


Chasing Starlight

by memefucker69



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Aliens, Alternate Universe - Space, Cyborgs, Fluff, M/M, Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-07
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2019-02-13 13:51:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12985413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/memefucker69/pseuds/memefucker69
Summary: When astrobotanist Chanyeol gets the chance of a lifetime to take an expedition to an exoplanet, he doesn't expect to fall for the engineer that tags along with him.





	Chasing Starlight

**Author's Note:**

> a/n: hello!! first of all i want to thank the mods for being SO PATIENT with me ;; i really wished i could've gotten this done sooner but school got in the way. thank you to my great friend S!! we made it to the finish line together!! i also want to thank the prompter for giving me the inspiration to write chansoo for the first time :3 sorry if anything is wrong i am by no means a scientist (i'm an art major sdjfksadg) but please enjoy!
> 
> warnings: ∆sstronaughty, chanyeol calling kyungsoo cute waY TOO MUCH like im sorry, mentions of war, some violence, use of aphrodisiacs, rimming

“Chanyeol!”

The sudden shout has said man jolting in his chair, knocking both his beaker and test tube to the ground in his panic. The glass shatters and the rare purple pollen spills out onto the floor, and Chanyeol screams (not unlike a prepubescent girl). He turns to the offending voice with a glare and is unsurprised to see Jongdae standing in the doorway to his lab.

“Jongdae, what the hell? I told you to knock first!” Chanyeol takes off his goggles and stands up with a furrowed brow. He’d just been working on an important experiment to check the acidic qualities of a plant found on the exoplanet Sveltyn, and now it’s ruined.

“Sorry, but it’s great news!” Jongdae leaves a trail of water as he walks in. He’s an a Frillian, an aquatic species that happens to secrete H 2 O constantly. His clothes always end up soaked by the end of the workday, and it looks like he’s already halfway there, judging by how he’s dripping onto the mess Chanyeol just made.

That peaks Chanyeol’s interest, and he cocks his head. “Great news?”

“The board! The RDRM Board! They approved and accepted your expedition request to Lucio!” Jongdae grins and opens his arms, which Chanyeol quickly leaps into with a squeal, wrapping his long legs around his best friend. Being half-Pyronian himself, an alien race known for running a high core temperature, steam rises up between them as Chanyeol gets excited.

“I can’t believe it! Are you sure it’s real?” Chanyeol exclaims. 

About a year ago, Chanyeol gave a speech at Andromeda University, a prestigious school on his home planet and current residence of Mars. His speech, as a famed astrobotanist, was mainly about the importance of studying the life on unexplored exoplanets and charting them. The exoplanet he is mostly interested in is Lucio after hearing of its so-called “abundance” of carnivorous plants.

Shortly after said speech, Chanyeol put in a request with the R.D.R.M. (Research Department of the Republic of Mars) to explore said planet, but he never imagined he’d actually receive permission and funding for it! Astrobotany isn’t exactly a well supported field in the scientific world lately, so this is just like a miracle to him.

“Yeah! Dr. Zu handed me the envelope, and well I couldn’t resist peeking!” Jongdae lets go of Chanyeol and holds out the letter to him. Thankfully, he remembered to wear gloves this time, so the paper is only a little damp. 

With a wide grin, Chanyeol opens it and unfolds the paper, carefully reading. “ _ Dr. Park, we were so impressed with your speech on the importance of the charting of exoplanets as well as your overall enthusiasm for the work you do. Thus, we would like to inform you that we have approved of your expedition to the exoplanet, Lucio. We will be providing you with the necessary funds, equipment, and ship for your journey. Since you do not have your spaceship license… _ ” Chanyeol’s brows draw together, and his happy tone falters. “ _...We will be sending you with a practiced engineer and pilot…? _ What? I asked to go alone!”

Jongdae frowns. “Well, it’s not like you can get your license in a month? That stuff takes years, especially with a big ship like you’ll probably have.”

“I leave in a month?!” Chanyeol turns back to the letter, wide-eyed, and sure enough the date printed says June 26th, a month from today. He sighs and lowers the paper. “I really didn’t want to be burdened by someone else. I’m a little bummed.”

“You’ll probably meet the engineer before you depart, so if they seem really annoying or distracting then you can just ask for a replacement? I’m sure it won’t bother you as much as you think.” Jongdae rolls his yellow eyes. “You hardly get out of your lab anyways. You need some interaction with other beings.”

“I guess…” Chanyeol mumbles, a pout to his lips. “I’m still gonna go no matter what. It’s probably the only chance I’ll ever get.”

“Hey,” Jongdae claps him on the shoulder. “Chin up! Just think, soon you’ll be on Lucio...looking at plants.” He snorts.

Chanyeol side-eyes him with a sneer. “Oh, yeah, like looking at rocks is any cooler.”

“Who’s been on more expeditions here?”

Chanyeol goes silent.

“That’s what I thought!”

 

He sends a reply back to the R.D.R.M. that day, and the excitement of further pursuing his passion has Chanyeol on a high. At first he thought a month was too little time, but now that the days seem to slowly tick by, he realizes that a month is way too long. It’s hard to dive into any new projects too, knowing that soon he’ll be packing things up and focusing all his attention on the plant life on Lucio.

It’s such a dream to him, having spent his whole life being the weird half-Pyronian, half-human kid who would rather be out tending to his tiny garden instead of playing VR games inside like all the other kids. It was tough making it out into the astrobotany field in the first place as well as earning a place and lab at his own in Zu’s Research Institute. He was content with making it this far, but now he’s even more thankful that he can prove everyone wrong and make a bigger name for himself. It was a relief to call his father and tell him the news, finally that receiving the  _ that’s great, son _ from him after so many years.

That phone call from a couple weeks ago still has Chanyeol smiling to himself, even now as he’s updating his blog to talk about the exciting expedition that he’ll be embarking on - now a week away. The R.D.R.M. already made the news public, so now it’s time for Chanyeol to deliver it to his supporters himself. He’d already received many calls and messages from his colleagues to congratulate him. The past three weeks have been nothing but encouraging to him.

His hands freeze on the holographic keys of his computer at the sound of a knock on the door to his lab. Hardly anyone he’s close to in the institute knocks, so it’s a little odd. There isn’t even a call of his name to follow up, letting Chanyeol know that he didn’t leave it locked.

Curious, he gets up and wanders over to the door. The frosted glass reveals that there is a silhouette of someone standing there, and Chanyeol opens it to see a man. He’s relatively short and seemingly humanoid, and his hair is a crimson red, bangs perched up from his forehead with a pair of black goggles. There’s a grey jumpsuit with the sleeves tied around his waist, and the black of his turtleneck contrasts with his pale skin as does his thick brows. He’s a little intimidating with the slight scowl on his face and wide heterochromatic eyes, one a chocolate brown and the other a startling bright blue, and Chanyeol is taken aback by this stranger.

An IHolo is pushed at Chanyeol across the threshold.

“I’m Kyungsoo Do, your engineer for the expedition to Lucio. I need you to fill out this spaceship request form.” His voice is soft and deep. “It’s so we can fit a ship to your research needs.”

Chanyeol blinks and then looks down at the tablet. “Um, sure. Come in and sit down.”

Kyungsoo’s steps are surprisingly heavy, most of his weight placed on one leg, as he follows Chanyeol to his desk, his ratty converse shoes squeaking on the tile. He actually seems a little awkward and quiet as he sits down at the chair in front of the desk. It’s kind of cute how he silently places the holographic tablet in front of Chanyeol and then tucks his hands between his legs.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Kyungsoo.” Chanyeol smiles. “So you’ll be coming with me?”

Kyungsoo nods. “I received the job around the same time you got approved for the expedition.” It’s hard to tell if he’s human or not because his right eye is definitely not just a regular blue human eye, but the rest of Kyungsoo is humanoid. Maybe he’s half-alien like Chanyeol?

Taking the IHolo into his hands, Chanyeol looks over the form presented to him. It’s pretty complicated engineering stuff, but it seems that Kyungsoo filled in most of the areas himself in chicken scratch. The only thing that remains is the name, make, and model of the ship they are requesting.

Smiling sheepishly, he looks back up at Kyungsoo. “I’m not very familiar with spaceships. What would you recommend?”

Kyungsoo clears his throat and scoots his chair closer to the desk. “Well, um, there is a directory here that links to all the ships currently.” He switches tabs on the IHolo. “You probably want one of the larger models as we need room for research, but of course nothing as big as the ZOX models. We don’t need to go particularly fast either, so we don’t need something terribly new. Ah, but then again you might want something new for your lab. We can look at the KIM models and maybe the LIU models too…” 

Kyungsoo switches between mumbling to himself and rambling to Chanyeol about spaceships that would best suit their journey to Lucio. He goes into a little more detail than necessary, but Chanyeol can see a reflection of himself there. Kyungsoo must really love his job even though he comes across nonchalant about it.

“How about this one?” Chanyeol asks after Kyungsoo narrows down the list, pointing to a large, white model. 

“KIM ALPHA 2400?” Kyungsoo hums. “That should work.”

Chanyeol fills out the form with an excited grin, knowing he’s one step closer to the expedition of a lifetime. As he’s signing his name below, he happens to glance up and sees Kyungsoo blushing like he realized he sounded dorky and was rambling. Able to relate, Chanyeol smiles comfortingly at him.

With a cute grumble, Kyungsoo takes the IHolo that Chanyeol offers back to him. “Thank you for your time, Dr. Park. I’ll contact you when the ship is ready.”

“Great! And you can just call me Chanyeol.”

Kyungsoo bows. “Chanyeol, then.” And then he leaves the lab, limping a little like he was before.

All of Chanyeol's hesitation about working with someone else is thrown out the window. Just from this one meeting with his to-be engineer, Chanyeol knows he's going to enjoy the Lucio expedition - especially if Kyungsoo is always this cute. With a smile, he turns back to his work and adds a new paragraph to his blog, talking about how excited he is to work with his new partner.

 

It turns out that it only takes a few days for the ship to be delivered to the empty hangar that the R.D.R.M. reserved for their expedition preparation. Kyungsoo calls him that morning, his voice as deep and smooth as Chanyeol remembers. Excited to see his brand new ship and partner, Chanyeol exits his apartment in a hurry and grabs a taxi, the android driver greeting him simply before driving him to his destination within minutes.

The scale of the KIM ALPHA 2400 is even more massive that Chanyeol imagined. There are several men and women lifting boxes of materials and loading them onto the ship. He had brought some of his lab materials here the day before, though the R.D.R.M. has offered to stock most of his lab themselves. It has Chanyeol eager to touch his new toys.

He spots Kyungsoo walking down the staircase of the entrance, his red hair shining in the artificial light. Kyungsoo directs one of the women to a stack of boxes before he turns and notices Chanyeol standing there. "Oh, hello, Chanyeol. Come to help?"

"Of course! I can't just sit back and let you do all the work." Chanyeol smiles and follows Kyungsoo to the pile of boxes, picking up one himself. "I love the ship, by the way. It's perfect."

Kyungsoo quirks a small smile, and he bends down to pick up  _ three  _ large boxes with ease, the stack towering over his head. "I'm glad. You made a good choice." His face shows no strain at all, and on his way up the stairs he even stops to talk to one of the workers. Chanyeol glances at Kyungsoo’s arms. He’s a little muscular, but not  _ that  _ buff. He’s stronger than he looks.

Just one box per trip is enough for clumsy Chanyeol, and he ends up being the one to carry the last box up to the main hub of the ship. Kyungsoo bids the workers adieu amongst the towers of boxes, and now he sits on the floor of the spacious main hub, actually out of breath. Anyone would be after they carried the amount Kyungsoo had.

Remembering that he had spotted a huge refrigerated box, Chanyeol looks around, finds it, and looks inside to see a case of beer. They definitely stocked their food supply well.

“Beer?” Chanyeol asks, picking up a couple and sitting down next to Kyungsoo.

“Thanks.” Kyungsoo takes the beer from him and inspects the bottle cap for a second. Chanyeol moves to get up and find a bottle opener, but before he can do that, Kyungsoo bites the bottle with the right side of his mouth, hardly struggling at all before there’s the resounding  _ pop! _ and he spits out the cap.

Chanyeol stares in muted surprise, blinking once, twice. “Uh...you must be really tough, huh?” He laughs a little, unbelieving.

Kyungsoo chuckles after taking a swig. “I’m made of tough stuff.” In his wide smile, Chanyeol catches sight of something gleaming. After his canine tooth, all of Kyungsoo’s right teeth are silver. That’s one too many cheap cavity fillings, that’s for sure.

Politely, Chanyeol then asks, “Are you human then? You’re pretty strong.”

“I guess I mostly am.” Smiling almost bitterly, Kyungsoo turns his head, looking out one of the wide windows of the ship. Chanyeol then notices a small tattoo behind his ear, reading  _ E01214 _ . Maybe he’s half-alien like Chanyeol? But he isn’t so sure what species has metal teeth. He doesn’t ask any more though. It’s clearly a touchy subject.

"So what do you do for a living? Do you live here in Andromeda?" Chanyeol changes the subject, capturing Kyungsoo's attention again.

"Ah, no I'm from Lunae, the biggest colony on the moon." Chanyeol's been there a few times. It's a classic high school field trip destination because of the Space History Museum. "I work for the Research Department of Lunae, and the R.D.R.M. contacted me to go along with you since they're short on engineers."

"Do you always go on expeditions with others?"

Kyungsoo shakes his head. "This is my first one. Usually I just repair any ships that malfunction and belong to the department. Sometimes I get to help out with designing new ships, but I never went to school for engineering, so they leave that to those with a degree." He bears a sour frown.

Chanyeol furrows his brows. "Well that's not fair. If you're knowledgeable, then you should be allowed to help."

Shrugging, Kyungsoo says, "I guess I'm not smart enough."

"You sounded pretty smart when we were picking the ship," Chanyeol points out, gesturing with his beer bottle.

"Ah, well," Kyungsoo shows his sheepish side once more as he blushes and shakes his head. "I just really like spaceships and spacecrafts, kinda like those kids who are obsessed with trains - that was me when I was younger."

Chanyeol laughs. "Me too, except I was the weird kid who loved plants."

That has Kyungsoo laughing too, a deep dorky sound that is like music to Chanyeol's ears. And when Kyungsoo smiles, Chanyeol notices how his lips curve into a unique heart shape. It has him going in for another drink to stop himself from saying something stupid. He might end up enjoying this expedition  _ too  _ much.

 

The departure day finally arrives, and Chanyeol couldn't be happier.

Before they fly off into space, he and Kyungsoo have a television cameo with the R.D.R.M. Chanyeol delivers a decent speech at a fancy podium just outside the KIM ALPHA 2400, thanking the research department and then going over what they plan to discover and learn on the exoplanet Lucio. Kyungsoo stands quietly next to him, nodding at some words and smiling politely at others, but he never speaks and is never prompted to by the reporters in the audience. It bothers Chanyeol a little; Kyungsoo is as much of a part of this as he is. In fact, Kyungsoo is in charge of charting the planet and creating the map. His words are important too.

Eventually they give a farewell and board the ship while hearing applause. It's like a dream to Chanyeol, and he gives an enthusiastic wave, to which Kyungsoo rolls his eyes but joins in. With the more advanced ship they've been given, boarding takes no time at all, and Kyungsoo has them off the ground just as Chanyeol gets settled.

"We can cruise for most of today, and then I'll send us into lightspeed tonight," Kyungsoo says, completely focused on the controls. Chanyeol nods from the seat next to him, unable to wipe the grin off his face.

"I can't believe this is actually happening," he says. "It's like a dream. How long is it gonna take for us to get to Lucio?"

"Three days," Kyungsoo answers, setting the ship's course before turning it to autopilot.

"Oh, that's not bad." Chanyeol had been anticipating a week at the least.

Kyungsoo smiles, turning to look at Chanyeol. "You can thank the ship for that. She's a fast one." He pats a blank space on the control panel.

"So why didn't you speak up during the speech? I thought you would pitch in to answer some questions," Chanyeol asks, swiveling in his chair.

"Stage fright." Kyungsoo shrugs. "Plus, I'm not in tune to all that science-y stuff. I know how to work the charting technology, but that's about it."

Chanyeol frowns. "But you know so much about ships and stuff like that."

"To an extent, but I think they were more curious about your research than the stuff I'm in charge of." Kyungsoo shrugs again.

"How do you know so much about piloting, by the way?" Chanyeol tries to stop this from turning into 20 questions but to no avail. "I mean, I thought you were just an engineer."

He almost hesitates before replying, "I was in the military, and I learned piloting after traveling to a few planets." Kyungsoo's gaze is back to the starry sky flying by.

Being in the military these days is tougher than ever, and judging by the way Kyungsoo's jaw sets, he isn't comfortable. Like an insensitive idiot Chanyeol asks, "Were you in the calamity war?"

Obviously uneasy, Kyungsoo replies, "Yes."

Chanyeol instantly berates himself for asking. No one wants to talk about war, especially the ten year long war that just ended four years ago, a tough battle between the U.P.E (United Planets of Earthlings) and other alien races. Chanyeol knows there were many tragic casualties on both sides, and he was glad to be on Mars, away from the battles. Not to mention, he has a feeling that his parents’ wealth was the reason he never got drafted.

"Sorry, um." Chanyeol gets up. "I'm gonna go down and start setting up my lab. Call if you need me." He bows a little before escaping the awkward situation and climbing the stairs down to the lower lab.

Seeing his beautiful new lab instantly hikes his mood back up, and Chanyeol takes a deep breath and stands akimbo as he stares down the hundreds of boxes that fill the space. It's more spacious than his lab back home, and his fingers itch with the tons of research that is to be had. Knowing he needs to get this beauty cleaned and ready before they land in Lucio, Chanyeol rubs his hands together and then gets to unpacking.

 

Time flies when you're having fun.

Chanyeol doesn't even realize how long he spends down in the lab, just sorting and unboxing various tools and equipment. He's like a kid on Christmas with how happy he looks every time he opens each box, looking at his shiny new things. Chanyeol couldn't even dream of buying some of these things with his own money.

It's when he's organizing beakers on a shelf that he hears Kyungsoo come in and smells food. Chanyeol turns around, yelping as he narrowly avoids dropping a beaker onto the floor. "Lunch?" Chanyeol asks.

Kyungsoo raises a brow, holding two plates of steaming food as he approaches the large table in the middle of the room. "Dinner, actually."

Shocked, Chanyeol turns to his phone, and sure enough - in Andromeda time - it's 6:13 PM. He hadn't even realized how long he'd been working. The scent of Italian herbs and cheese wafts towards him as he sits down and Kyungsoo slides a plate towards him. It's lasagna, evidently something instant as he doubts Kyungsoo could make something like this in the tiny kitchen they have. It smells so good that Chanyeol quickly thanks him and starts eating immediately, not having noticed how hungry he was. Kyungsoo laughs at him, and Chanyeol is relieved to hear it. He's glad Kyungsoo isn't too angry or put off after he prodded too deeply at him.

"So what's so great about Lucio?" Kyungsoo asks as he pulls up a nearby stool and starts eating. Chanyeol catches sight of his silvery teeth again and looks back down at his own plate.

"Well, a few years ago it was discovered to contain an atmosphere like Earth's that could sustain life," Chanyeol grins, happy to talk about his interests. "Ever since then, I've been interested in studying and charting it, but mostly because there was a rumor that it houses several new species of carnivorous plants!" His eyes light up. This is his true passion.

"Carnivorous plants?" Kyungsoo tilts his head.

"Yeah! They're my favorite," Chanyeol smiles. "I have a little pitcher plant back in my office named  _ Kai  _ after my favorite idol." He takes out his phone and searches through his photos to find one before showing it to Kyungsoo. It's rather tiny and in its own ceramic pot with a picture of some guy with pink hair taped onto it.

"It's cute," Kyungsoo says as a casual comment, and it causes Chanyeol to beam.

"You think so? Jongdae says it’s gross." Chanyeol puffs out his cheeks before shoveling more lasagna into his mouth.

"Aren't all things cute when they're small?" Kyungsoo justifies while chewing. There's marinara on his upper lip, and Chanyeol resists the urge to point it out. He also resists replying with,  _ 'Well wouldn't that mean you're cute then?'  _ because Kyungsoo seems like the type to hate jokes against shorter people.

But it's really just because Kyungsoo is pretty cute.

After finishing their dinner, Kyungsoo volunteers to help Chanyeol unbox a little more before announcing that they should probably go into lightspeed and take the time to sleep. Exhausted, Chanyeol agrees, and they turn off the lights and go back upstairs. Kyungsoo goes to change the autopilot settings, while Chanyeol goes to check out their bedroom, fit with two beds and a bathroom to share.

Or at least it should, but when he opens the sliding door, he only sees one large bed sitting in the middle of the room, with boxes of their things sitting around it. Kyungsoo must have not gotten around to setting things up in here.

"Uh...Kyungsoo?" Chanyeol calls, still standing in the doorway.

"Just a second!" Kyungsoo replies, and a few moments later his heavy footsteps approach from behind. "What is it-- _ Oh _ ."

Kyungsoo groans as he steps up next to Chanyeol. "Fuck, Jae must have put in the wrong order. I should've checked every shipment and room before we took off." He facepalms and then slides his hand down his face with a sigh. “It’s fine. I can sleep on the couch in the main room, and you can take the bed.”

Chanyeol frowns. That couch didn’t look comfortable to sleep on. “We can just share? The bed’s big enough,” he suggests, and Kyungsoo's eyes widen almost comically.

"No, no, it's fine--"

"I'm not letting you sleep on that couch." Chanyeol places his hands on his hips and scowls. "It's like a queen or king bed. I don't take up that much room despite my height, okay? Let's make do with what we have."

Kyungsoo purses his lips almost irritably, like he's stopping himself from refusing more, and then sighs again. "Alright, fine. I'll take the right, and you can have the left." He moves to dig through the few boxes labeled with his name, and with a satisfied smile, Chanyeol does the same. It only takes them a few minutes to find what they need and take turns using the bathroom.

To his surprise, when Chanyeol gets out of the bathroom, Kyungsoo isn't wearing his usual turtleneck and jumpsuit combo (which really why would he), but a long-sleeved t-shirt and black boxers with his red hair down and flopping into his eyes, sitting on the edge of the bed and checking his phone, facing away from Chanyeol. His shoulders are so narrow, and he looks so small and cute, less intimidating than when Chanyeol first met him.

Kyungsoo turns when Chanyeol climbs onto the bed, rubbing his one brown eye sleepily. "Are you sure it's--"

"Go to sleep, Kyungsoo." Chanyeol smiles as he climbs under the covers. Mumbling something, Kyungsoo turns off the lights and does the same. He shuffles to lie on his stomach and buries his face into the pillow, and Chanyeol looks at him a little longer before rolling over to face the other direction. He's going to have a tough time sleeping with all this excitement in his veins as it is.

 

There's a comforting weight pressing him down when Chanyeol wakes up. It's warm, and he barely registers what - or rather  _ who  _ \- it is until he hears and feels the soft breathing on his neck. Opening his eyes to the same darkness he'd fallen asleep in, Chanyeol leans up a little only for his nose to meet soft hair. He stills as he realizes it's Kyungsoo clinging to him and deeply asleep, features relaxed and head resting on Chanyeol's chest, his red hair messy and sticking up with cowlicks. His lips are pursed and parted as he breathes in and out, and for a moment Chanyeol is transfixed. He didn't strike Kyungsoo as the cuddly type, but maybe that's why he didn't want to share a bed.

It's warm and comfortable, but Chanyeol knows Kyungsoo will probably be embarrassed if he wakes up like this, and so he slowly manages to slide out from under Kyungsoo without waking him up, noting how heavy he is. Kyungsoo is small, but he's definitely heavier than Chanyeol would expect from any other human.

Trying not to think too hard about how adorable and soft Kyungsoo looks on the bed by himself, Chanyeol freshens up before walking into the kitchen to start breakfast. They went into lightspeed last night, so they must be in Lucio's solar system at this point, he notes as he glances out the window momentarily.

He manages to whip up some sunny side-up eggs and some rice in the little kitchen before Kyungsoo wanders out. He's dressed in his usual ensemble with a headband pulling back his hair instead of goggles, but he still looks all groggy. Chanyeol watches him quietly as he continues to pat the rice into two bowls, wondering if Kyungsoo actually realized that he was clinging to Chanyeol all night.

Kyungsoo notices and looks up as he sits down at the table and furrows his brows. "...What is it?"

"Oh, uh, it's nothing." Chanyeol smiles and hurries to place the eggs on top of the rice. "I'm still a little tired. Too excited to sleep."

"Understandable." Kyungsoo nods. He must not have known, huh.

The rest of the second day flies by pretty mundanely. Kyungsoo offers to finish unpacking everything on the main floor, while Chanyeol continues to tackle the mess that is his lab. He does remember to eat lunch this time though and even offers to cook dinner for them both this time around instead of opting for instant food. It delights him to see Kyungsoo's face light up at the first taste, and Chanyeol minutely brags about his mother owning a restaurant back in Andromeda.

It's late when they finally finish unpacking and installing everything in the ship. To relax and reward themselves, Kyungsoo suggests playing a card game, spades to be exact. Chanyeol can't remember the last time he actually played with physical cards, but Kyungsoo is very competitive and focused.

When Chanyeol wins his second round in a row, Kyungsoo grumbles and gets up, going to the fridge and grabbing a couple of beers. He looks in the cabinet too and comes back with a bottle of cinnamon whiskey and a glass. Wow, the R.D.R.M. sure love their drinks.

He raises a brow and grins as Kyungsoo takes a shot of cinnamon whiskey. "Getting nervous?"

"In your dreams," Kyungsoo utters with great determination. He holds the glass and bottle out to Chanyeol, who shakes his head.

"Nah, I can't have any of it. I'll get like super-ultra-mega drunk," Chanyeol laughs with a wave of his hand. "Anything strong like that is bad news for Pyronians."

Kyungsoo looks at him in surprise, setting the bottle down on the table. "You're Pyronian? I thought you were human."

Chanyeol motions to his slightly pointed ears and charcoal gray hair, typical of his alien heritage. "I'm only half, but yeah. My mom is Pyronian, and my dad is human. I don't usually tell people though because, y'know." Mixed species like himself tend to be frowned upon and discriminated against. Chanyeol is lucky to be able to pass as a human.

Kyungsoo sighs and scratches behind his ear, where that tattoo is if Chanyeol remembers correctly. "People can't respect what they don't understand." He then smiles and takes another shot of whiskey. "So what happens if you  _ do  _ drink stuff like this?"

"It's only happened a couple times on accident, but I get really inebriated, my fingertips will catch on fire, and my body heat will rise," Chanyeol explains. "I usually black out though, so that's just from what people have told me."

Kyungsoo grins. “I’ll keep it out of your hands then, although that sounds cool.”

“The last time it happened was at a party at my workplace. I nearly burned down a co-worker’s lab,” Chanyeol shakes his head at the memory. “Luckily they already knew about my bloodline, so they let it go, and I only had to pay for damages. I lost my money I’d saved up for a new irrigation system in my greenhouse.” He pouts.

“You have a greenhouse?” Kyungsoo asks, gathering all the cards and starting to shuffle them.

“Technically the entire workplace owns it, but as the resident astrobotanist I am in charge of maintaining it,” Chanyeol says with a proud grin. “Though I’m leaving Jongdae in charge while I’m gone. I hope he doesn’t let any of my babies die.”

“...’ _ Babies _ ?’”

“I raised them from seed to sprout! They are my children.” Chanyeol crosses his arms and huffs. Kyungsoo only raises his brows once before dealing the cards out again and starting the next round.

 

The next day is spent working to prepare for their arrival at Lucio in the evening. Chanyeol makes sure to pack a small bag to explore a little at arrival, and Kyungsoo ensures that the ship is in tiptop shape to land safely. He looks really handsome when focused as they start to approach Lucio, but Chanyeol can hardly focus on Kyungsoo when the planet of his dreams is right in front of him. It looks so colorful and similar to Earth, although it lacks the blue of the vast oceans. From what Chanyeol has heard, Lucio only has one large body of water.

Breaking through the atmosphere, Kyungsoo manages to find a safe landing place for the ship. It’s a perfectly flat and open area surrounded by trees and other plants. Chanyeol practically presses his face up against one of the windows to look at the scenery. It seems that they aren't too far from the water. Kyungsoo chose a perfect spot.

The ship jolts as they come in contact with the land, and Chanyeol holds onto a nearby wall for a moment as Kyungsoo fiddles with the controls to stabilize them. After a minute, he finally looks up with a smile and says, "We've landed."

Chanyeol yells like a child in excitement and pushes off the wall. "Let's go!" He grabs the two bags he prepared and hands one to Kyungsoo, who throws it onto his back, and then rushes to the door that leads outside the ship. Pressing his hand to the panel, the ship scans his hand before the heavy door slides open with a hiss.

The first thing that hits him is temperature. It's a tropical climate, humid and warm, and the air smells fresh and clean, speaking of an uninhabited planet. The sight in front of him is beautiful too. The grass is long and green, wispy and crushes under Chanyeol's feet as he steps down. Several yards away is where the grass meets trees and plants of all sizes, shapes, and colors. Just looking at them from this distance, Chanyeol knows these are species that are unfamiliar to him, and that thought has his heart thumping in excitement.

“It’s beautiful,” he breathes.

“It is,” Kyungsoo says from behind him. The door to the ship closes with a clang. “I didn’t expect it to be so humid though.” Chanyeol turns around to see him wrinkling his nose.

“It’s the perfect climate for plant life. Think rain forest,” Chanyeol explains starting to walk forward. "We can just explore for tonight - until the star sets. I can't remember what they named it."

"This planet can't be bigger than the moon," Kyungsoo comments. "It seems pretty small."

"Yeah, it's why we were able to get an expedition with a crew this small," Chanyeol laughs. "It is about the size of the moon though. There's only one body of water too." Raising his camera from where it hangs from his neck, Chanyeol crouches and takes a scenic picture of the forest in front of them. He then springs back up and turns around, changing the camera to front-facing and takes a selfie, holding a v-sign up and receiving an unbelieving stare from Kyungsoo.

"Kyungsoo, join in!" He calls, taking another, but Kyungsoo just rolls his eyes in continues on towards the forest. With a pout, Chanyeol follows.

It's a whole new adventure for Chanyeol, and he stops to admire every plant they come across, taking a picture of each one, but so far there seem to be no carnivorous plants in sight. Kyungsoo does get spooked when some creepy, crawly insect or arachnid of sorts skitters by when they bend down to inspect a flower. Chanyeol picked it up and held it in Kyungsoo's face to which he yelled and threatened to kick him. He's even more adorable and handsome when he stops to look up at a very tall tree, and Chanyeol takes that moment of vulnerability to snap a photo of Kyungsoo.

They don't spot many animals while trekking through the forest either, other than bugs and a few tiny furry creatures that remind Chanyeol of the squirrels and other small mammals from Earth. Chanyeol tries to take pictures of them too, but most skitter away at the sound of their footsteps.

After an hour of exploring, they finally break through the trees and encounter light pink sand that leads to a crystal clear lake. The water is still and the light setting over the horizon, bleeding into the soon-to-be night sky, paints a beautiful picture. Chanyeol immediately goes wide-eyed and takes another picture.

"This is beautiful," Kyungsoo breathes from next to him, and Chanyeol nods in agreement, at a loss for words. It reminds him of picturesque sites from the  _ Must See Places in the Universe!  _ travel book of his childhood.

They walk over to the water, peering in and able to see the floor of the lake, covered in gray pebbles. Chanyeol moves closer. "I wonder if it's safe to put a hand in," he wonders, crouching down.

Before he can even try, Kyungsoo plunges his right hand into the water. His blue eye nearly glows as he states, "It's 37.8 degrees Celsius, and it feels fine. It feels like water."

Chanyeol blinks, but he decides it's better to not ask how Kyungsoo got such a precise measurement with just his hand. Instead he smiles and stands back up, hurrying to tug his shoes and socks off and rolling up his pants before stepping into the water. It's lukewarm, meaning it probably doesn't contain much life, and that's why it's so clear.

"Ah, this is so relieving," Chanyeol sighs. "You should come in, Kyungsoo!"

Kyungsoo eyes the water warily, as if remembering the bug from earlier. "...No thanks. I'll pass."

"Suit yourself." He shrugs and then points to his bag sitting in the sand. "At least get a picture of me!" Chanyeol poses with a big grin and two v-signs. Kyungsoo rolls his eyes but does as asked.

They decide to head back after that, not wanting to get caught up in the darkness of the night, since they weren't exactly sure what kind of creatures were lurking on this planet. But they do plan on heading out early tomorrow to start the true expedition, packing bigger bags and making sure that Kyungsoo's charting technology works properly. He's going to be taking care of that aspect while Chanyeol gets to document species and test certain parts of the land, such as the soil and water.

Kyungsoo volunteers to cook, and Chanyeol actually gets to see him with his sleeves rolled up and an apron tied around his waist. He has to check himself to make sure he doesn't get all doe-eyed while he watches him chop ingredients and add them to the pot. Chanyeol isn't exactly great at hiding his affections when he develops a crush.

"So what do you study exactly?" Kyungsoo asks as he stirs the small pot. "I mean, I know you're a botanist, but what does that, like, entail?"

"I do all kinds of experiments and tests, mostly to help with crops and such on Mars," Chanyeol answers, resting his cheek in his palm as he sits at the table. "It's not easy to grow stuff there, y'know, so I try to come up with new alternatives. But my real passion is for carnivorous plants."

"Oh, yeah, you said that earlier."

Chanyeol nods, perking up at his chance to talk about his favorite things, his passions. "Lucio is said to have several species of carnivorous plants. It's a rumor, but I have to know if it's true! I'm in love with all the species found on Earth, though I haven't been able to see all of them, but when I was in college I was able to go there and explore all that I could find. I'm hoping to find more snap traps, like the Venus flytrap? I bet with the climate here we could find something huge with more advanced hunting techniques or maybe totally different ones. I do want to look at the basic life forms too, like the single-cell organisms..." He slowly trails off as he glances up and sees Kyungsoo grinning at him almost teasingly with that heart-shaped smile of his, and Chanyeol feels his face heat up in embarrassment. He rambled on again like a big dork.

"S-Sorry..." Chanyeol laughs sheepishly. "I tend to go all nerd sometimes about this stuff."

"No, it's alright." Kyungsoo turns back to his stew with the grin still on his face. "It's cute."

Chanyeol screams internally. Kyungsoo? Thinks he's  _ cute _ ?  _ Kyungsoo _ ? Through the deafening noise in his brain, he manages to reply, "O-Okay."

 

Well-rested and eager, the following morning they head out on the first day of their expedition with backpacks full of supplies. The first task is to boot up Kyungsoo's IHolo with the charting system, and while Kyungsoo does that Chanyeol takes a soil sample from the field they're standing in with a soil probe and collecting it in a jar to examine later in the lab.

"Alright," Kyungsoo says once Chanyeol's finished. "So today, from this spot, we need to walk at least thirteen kilometers north. I hope you're in shape."

Chanyeol most definitely is not. "I should be fine."

Kyungsoo eyes his lanky form before continuing. "I'll keep us on track, so feel free to wander off and do your research. As long as we can get to thirteen and back before night time, we can stop as many times as you want."

"Got it." Chanyeol nods with an ecstatic grin, itching to take off into the unknown. "Let's head out then?"

Kyungsoo starts to lead, and Chanyeol closely follows, keeping his eye out for anything that interests him. Being the one man research team that he is, it’s impossible for Chanyeol to document and inspect every species of life he comes across, so he intends to pick and choose with a focus on anything carnivorous he can find. But having said that, Chanyeol is in pure awe. Having never been on an undocumented planet, he just can’t believe that there isn’t a single plant or animal that he can name.

They take many pauses along the journey, so that Chanyeol can look to his heart's content. He doesn't come across any plants that seem to be carnivorous, but he does find a flower that interests him, one that is fiery red and smells almost spicy. He ends up potting it in the small ceramic pot he brought. They also come across many animals, from an oddly large orange newt clinging to the side of a tree that makes them jump to a long-legged furry animal grazing on a purple leafy plant. He ends up snapping more pictures than he expected, a great portion of them secretly of Kyungsoo. He'll have to edit those out before submitting them to the R.D.R.M.

Making the long journey there and back to the ship is tiring, and by the night they're exhausted. Kyungsoo miraculously has the energy to cook a quick meal while Chanyeol stores away pictures and other research material he's gathered. After that, it's lights out for the both of them. And the following three days are the same as they travel in the other three directions. It's finally on the third day, traveling south, that Chanyeol finally comes across what he's been looking for.

Tucked away in a thorny bush is a plant straight out of a Super Mario game. It's a snap trap carnivorous plant with an awaiting mouth full of leafy trigger hairs and colored violet with white spores, about the size of one's forearm.

The moment Chanyeol sees it, he gasps and falls to his knees to look at it in awe. "Hey there, little guy," he coos. He reaches for it, but Kyungsoo quickly slaps his hand away.

"Those thorns might be poisonous, and this thing probably is too. I think it moved," Kyungsoo warns sternly. True to his words, the plant is leaning closer to Chanyeol than it was before.

Frowning, Chanyeol says, "I need to harvest it for research though."

Kyungsoo sighs and moves to kneel on the ground next to Chanyeol, shedding the backpack from his shoulders and setting his IHolo aside. "Hand me the shovel and get the pot ready." He rolls up his sleeves.

"But the thorns..." Chanyeol hesitates, and Kyungsoo smiles at him.

"Made of tough stuff, remember?"

Although still unsure, Chanyeol relents and hands him the small shovel. Kyungsoo holds it in his right hand and tucks his left arm behind him as if to protect it. And true to his theory, the moment Kyungsoo moves to dig, the plant chomps on his arm. It doesn't have much strength, and with no teeth, Kyungsoo easily pulls his arm out and starts to dig. As if in panic, the plant cutely flails.

"It's okay, buddy!" Chanyeol comforts with a grin as if the plant can understand him. "We're just taking you to a new home!"

Kyungsoo manages to uproot the carnivorous plant, and they plant it in the pot Chanyeol brought. Although the plant is clearly displeased with its drooping posture, Chanyeol is beaming from ear-to-ear.

"It’s so cute," he nearly squeals. "I'm naming it Junior."

“Junior?” Kyungsoo questions, unbothered by the plant chomping on his right arm as he picks up the pot.

“For Kyungsoo Jr. because he’s cute and smol but very angry and strong.” Chanyeol grins.

Kyungsoo scoffs, standing back up and juggling Junior in one arm and the IHolo in the other. “I am nothing like this thing.” With the way Junior copies his acts and turns away from Chanyeol, he begs to differ.

“Well, let’s hurry back, so I can find out if he really is poisonous or venomous. I hope your arm will be okay.” Chanyeol frowns as he grabs his things. He still doesn’t really understand why Kyungsoo is so confident that he’ll be fine, especially since he was the one who suggested that Junior might be poisonous.

He starts to walk but stops when he notices Kyungsoo standing there and staring off into the woods, his right eye seeming to glow and brows furrowed.

"What's wrong?" Chanyeol asks, diverting his eyes to where Kyungsoo's gaze is. He doesn't see anything out of the ordinary in the shadows of the trees.

Kyungsoo hesitates but then turns back to Chanyeol and shakes his head. "It's nothing. Just thought I saw something."

Chanyeol huffs. "Don't do that. You scared me."

 

Now that the initial charting is done, and the IHolo begins to generate a generic map to scale of the planet with its advanced technology, Chanyeol retreats to his lab for the night. With gloves on, he manages to transport Junior to a bigger and better pot. The plant still seems displeased with him as Chanyeol takes samples of its thorns and plant tissue. But when Chanyeol turns the faucet to get water, the water just barely drips out.

"Kyungsoo?" he calls as he walks upstairs and finds the engineer typing up notes about their day on his IHolo.

"Hmm?" Kyungsoo looks up, and Chanyeol does his best not to melt at his sparkly doe eyes.

"Um, something's off about the water pressure."

"Could be something to do with water tank..." Kyungsoo mumbles as he stands up. "Let me take a look in the engine room." He smiles and then heads down the staircase, leaving Chanyeol alone on the main level. Deciding to take a seat on the couch and wait for him, Chanyeol sits back and sighs. He’s both exhausted and excited, but he probably won’t be able to get too deep into testing tonight.

A vibration next to him has Chanyeol sitting up and looking to his right to see Kyungsoo’s abandoned IHolo sitting there, the screen glowing with a new notification. Curious, Chanyeol leans over and sees that it’s a text message from someone named _ Dr. Kwon _ .

_ Mr. Do (E01214), it’s been three months since your last check-in. Please fill out the form we’ve emailed you and provide picture updates of the right arm and leg model. We have also provided a program to update your optical sensor. Please install that as well. Thank you _ .

Chanyeol furrows his brows. Optical sensor? Is that what Kyungsoo’s startling blue eye is? E01214 sounds familiar to him too. He reaches to unlock the IHolo but quickly retracts his hand and acts normal when he hears Kyungsoo’s footsteps coming up the staircase. A little shame runs through him as he knows he was snooping on something private, but he composes himself as Kyungsoo tells him he fixed it.

 

The following day is free for Chanyeol to research to his heart’s content. Kyungsoo offers to help in any way, so Chanyeol has him go out to the lake and take a few samples of the water. Chanyeol himself puts off looking at the soil samples to inspect Junior more thoroughly.

He discovers that Kyungsoo was right in that Junior has venom in its feeler teeth, and its thorns and spores are poisonous. This discovery only makes him more curious as to why Kyungsoo’s arm hasn’t swollen up or he hasn’t collapsed. Chanyeol asked him several times if he felt alright, and each time Kyungsoo nodded. Maybe he has some sort of immunity? But how would Kyungsoo know that? He thinks back to the text from the so-called Dr. Kwon, and it only puzzles Chanyeol further.

Chanyeol also finds out that Junior is different from Earthly carnivorous plants. He tries to feed Junior a couple of bugs he’d found, but Junior only tries to go for Chanyeol’s arm again. Chanyeol sits back and takes in Junior’s unusual size. Bigger plant equals...bigger prey? To prove that theory, Chanyeol goes up to their fridge and finds some packaged bacon. Using tongs, Chanyeol dangles a slice over the plant, and almost instantly Junior snaps up and traps it in his mouth. 

“Yes!” Chanyeol cheers and pats Junior’s head with the tongs. “Good Junior.”

“Talking to the plant again?” Kyungsoo snorts as he comes down the stairs, holding jars of Lucio’s water.

“His name is Junior, thank you.” Chanyeol sniffs.

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes as he sets down the water. “Fine. He does look a little cute when his weird mouth is closed.” He looks closer and affixes Chanyeol with a scowl. “You fed him our pork belly?”

“Of course not! It’s just the bacon. It offends me that you think I’d do that.” Chanyeol places a hand on his chest and dramatically gasps. Kyungsoo giggles with that dorky laugh of his, and it makes Chanyeol smile and break the act.

"Anything else you want me to help out with?" Kyungsoo asks.

"No, I'm probably going to finish up here and cook dinner soon," Chanyeol replies, turning back to his work. "You're off the hook...for now."

"Okay, I'll be working on the map." Kyungsoo pats Junior before leaving to walk up the staircase. It's then that Chanyeol remembers what he'd thought of before and spins around in his chair and calls out Kyungsoo's name. The engineer stops and turns to look at him with wondering eyes.

"Um." Chanyeol's nerves waiver. "Do you want to watch a movie? After dinner, I mean." He scratches at his head nervously.

As if he doesn't notice Chanyeol's near-obvious anxiety, Kyungsoo smiles and nods. "Sure," he says and then continues back up the stairs.

Once Kyungsoo's out of hearing range, Chanyeol lets out a sigh of relief, although he isn't quite sure why he thought Kyungsoo would ever say no. It's not like it's a date or anything. Of course not. Just a nice movie shared between two co-workers or friends.

"Do you have any experience with crushes?" He asks Junior, who only opens his mouth back up to beg for more bacon. Chanyeol huffs and writes down that he has a quick digestion time.

 

After a nice meal, they choose a new action movie to watch. Kyungsoo says it has decent reviews and is a self-proclaimed movie buff, so Chanyeol trusts him. It's pretty interesting and keeps Chanyeol's attention from the fact that Kyungsoo is only an inch or two away from him. There was a bowl of popcorn between them, but Junior kept begging for it, so Kyungsoo just gave it to the plant. Now Chanyeol is tortured by the tiny space between them, especially when his mind wavers to how warm Kyungsoo feels when Chanyeol consistently wakes up to Kyungsoo clinging to him.

But it isn't him who crosses the distance, it's Kyungsoo once more.

It's during the final fight scene with the protagonist that Chanyeol feels a gentle weight drop onto his left shoulder. It surprises him as he was so immersed in the movie, and he turns to see Kyungsoo fast asleep, cheek cushioned by Chanyeol's shoulder. Even though Chanyeol wakes up to the same sight these days, he coos internally and shifts a little to make sure Kyungsoo's more comfortable. After all the trips to the lake that he did for Chanyeol, it's understandable that he'd be tired.

Kyungsoo's arm is upturned between them, and in a rare moment his sleeve is rolled up. His skin is so fair, and this is the first time Chanyeol's seen his bare arm. This is the arm he let Junior gnaw on before, but there don't appear to be any rashes or redness. As Chanyeol is inspecting, he grazes his fingertips absentmindedly across three moles on Kyungsoo's wrist, arranged oddly symmetrical.

And then Chanyeol is shocked out of his mind as Kyungsoo's arm  _ splits open _ with a metallic hiss. He jerks his hand away, gazing in awe at the silver interior of Kyungsoo's forearm, wires cluttering the inside and a panel placed front and center. It displays the current time with a heart monitor beneath as well as other numbers that Chanyeol isn't sure of.

When Chanyeol happens to look up, Kyungsoo is wide awake and staring at him with a solemn expression, and Chanyeol immediately jerks back and feels sorry.

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't know - or I didn't mean to...!" Chanyeol bows his head in apology.

Kyungsoo shakes his head, sitting up and closing his arm back up by pushing the twin panels back into place. "It's alright. You would've found out eventually."

That doesn't make Chanyeol feel any less guilty, so he prompts Kyungsoo to talk about it. "Are...Are you a cyborg then?"

Kyungsoo sighs and sits up. "Yeah, I am. I was drafted into the calamity war when I turned eighteen, eleven years ago. I'm from a poor district in Lunae, and basically every person of age was drafted in that area. It was probably two or...two or three years into it, on a battle on some exoplanet, that I got caught up in an explosion." He shifts uncomfortably. "I was declared dead on the spot. The right side of my body was nearly gone, but I was somehow still alive. And because of that, I was chosen for Project Pseudo Soldier or P.P.S., where scientists would take in fallen soldiers and turn them into basically fighting machines. My right arm, leg, parts of my chest, and the right side of my face were all repaired and replaced."

"So...your teeth?"

Kyungsoo touches his jaw. "They're all metal replacements. My skin is all synthetic, and my eye is specialized. I went through tons of surgeries and hated every minute of it. Sometimes...I wished they had just left me to die." He clenches his fists in his lap. "I had three years of rehab to get prepped for even more battle, but in my last year PPS lost all of its funding and was shut down. Then the government offered me a job as an engineer, so here I am."

Chanyeol doesn’t even think before reaching over to grasp Kyungsoo’s hand in his, squeezing comfortingly. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been so nosy. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Shrugging, Kyungsoo says, “Most people treat robots as a lower class and use them as servants, and even though I’m not one fully, I don’t want to be seen like something that’s not human.” He looks at their intertwined hands, brushing his index finger against Chanyeol’s almost thoughtfully. “I can’t feel anything in this hand. It can only tell me a numerical value of what I  _ should  _ feel. Soft...warm…”

He looks up when Chanyeol withdraws his hand, only for him to plant it in Kyungsoo’s hair, ruffling the red strands gently. “You can feel here, right? You seem pretty human to me.” Chanyeol smiles, and Kyungsoo can’t help but return it.

“Thanks, Chanyeol.” Kyungsoo swats Chanyeol’s hand away, yelping when Chanyeol pinches his cheek. “Hey!” He rubs his cheek with a glare.

“See? You’re back to your regular self already!” Chanyeol winces as Kyungsoo punches his arm in retaliation.

They look to see that the movie has ended, credits are rolling, and decide to head to bed, knowing they have another full day ahead of them and plenty of work to do. Chanyeol always gets excited to sleep, not only because he's generally brain dead by the end of it but also because of Kyungsoo's unconscious cuddling. It's been continuous since night one, and Kyungsoo looks so well-rested in the mornings that Chanyeol hasn't bothered to tell him, since he doesn't really mind.

Chanyeol does have trouble sleeping this night though. So much that he's actually awake to watch Kyungsoo roll over and slowly encroach into Chanyeol's space and cling to his warmth. Without even thinking, Chanyeol raises a hand to pet Kyungsoo's head gently, reflecting back on what he had been told. Kyungsoo must have been through so much, but he doesn't let it stop him. He's made of even tougher stuff that Chanyeol could've ever imagined.

That selfish, hopeless romantic side of him wonders if Kyungsoo returns his affections. It probably isn't professional to get a crush on your expedition partner or let said crush cuddle you through the night, but Chanyeol's never been one to pay attention to detail. It's not like there's a perfect date spot around either, and dating could compromise the mission.

Chanyeol falls asleep wondering if he should take the plunge.

 

With the morning spent studying Lucio's soil, Chanyeol grows bored of it and is relieved when he can finally focus back on Junior, especially concerning the odd rock-like compound he had found lying on the table in front of the plant, like it had coughed it up. Examining it closely, it doesn't seem like much at all. Some chemical in Junior's system must've pressured its food into a new form, and it's probably nothing more than your basic, everyday rock. It's a shame Chanyeol never liked geology.

" _ I'll be chasing you til' the ends of the universe, until the end of the night, _ " Chanyeol sings along to the music playing from his computer. " _ Because you are my starlight _ ."

"Nice voice." Kyungsoo effectively startles Chanyeol, making him nearly drop the rock.

"You scared me." Chanyeol places a hand on his beating heart and swivels around in his chair. "Ah! You brought the soil sample. Not that I'm really excited about it..." He sighs and takes the jar of soil from Kyungsoo's hands.

Kyungsoo leans over and looks at Chanyeol's computer screen, watching some pink-haired male singer dance around on the screen. "Who's that?"

"It's Kai! The Galactic Idol of All Talents!" Chanyeol answers with a bright grin. "I'm a huge fan. I went to one of his concerts last year."

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes and instead directs his attention to the compound that Chanyeol is still holding in his gloved hand. His eyes widen significantly. "Where'd you get that?" He gasps.

Confused at his expression, Chanyeol holds it up to him. "It's one of Junior's pellets. I think he coughed it up like a cat. It's probably just some rock or something."

"Break it open."

"Huh?" Chanyeol looks at him like he's crazy.

Kyungsoo looks around the lab before finding a small hammer and then handing it to Chanyeol. "Trust me." He looks completely serious, and he’s never wronged Chanyeol before, so Chanyeol follows his advice and places the compound down on the counter. With one decent swing, the the compound cracks and splits open to reveal a glimmering obsidian interior. Chanyeol gasps and picks up one half.

"It's the infamous _ black gold _ , the most sought after gem in the universe. I've never seen it in-person until now," Kyungsoo says, picking up the other half. "Just this much would sell for  _ millions _ , Chanyeol." In his eyes are dollar signs, but Chanyeol quickly snatches the gem from Kyungsoo's hand.

"We aren't selling it," Chanyeol frowns. "It belongs to Junior."

"...Are you kidding me." Kyungsoo looks at him incredulously.

"Junior coughed it up! It's its property." Chanyeol takes the two halves of black gold and set them next to Junior's pot.

"It's just a plant!"

"It's still stealing!"

Kyungsoo scoffs. "Fine, but don't go flaunting that gem around. People would kill for that, and I'm not exaggerating."

Chanyeol swivels around in his chair to eye the engineer warily. "...Are you going to kill me?"

Kyungsoo waggles his eyebrows suggestively before heading out of the lab. Just like the first time they met, Chanyeol watches Kyungsoo shift most of his weight to his right leg. He wonders just how heavy it is and if his leg has cool quirks to it too. Kyungsoo hasn't talked about his artificial parts since their big conversation last night, so Chanyeol figures he probably still isn't very comfortable talking about it. He's been nosy enough as it is.

"What should I do, Junior?" Chanyeol asks the plant, resting his head in his palm and frowning. "I wanna tell Kyungsoo how I feel but, like, in a  _ romantic  _ way. I don't know what he likes though. Should I do something original?"

Junior only keeps its mouth poised open, facing the window.

"You're right. Kyungsoo seems like a guy who likes it classic. I could do a picnic since he likes my food." Chanyeol smiles to himself, thinking of how Kyungsoo always devours his food quickly and asks for seconds if there are any. He pats his tummy when he's done too. Gosh, he's so darn  _ cute _ . Chanyeol squishes his own cheeks, filled with affection.

"It's settled!" He straightens up in his chair and takes a pad of paper to scribble down a list of things he'll need to find. "Just watch, Junior. I'm gonna woo Do Kyungsoo like I've never woo'd before."

 

He decides that it’s best to take Kyungsoo by surprise, and Chanyeol sneaks out early in the morning to set up the picnic on the lake shore. He takes a spare blanket and lays it out on the sand, and he makes sandwiches and other little snacks with the food that they have and seals it up in a container he found since there are no wicker baskets packed onto the ship. Chanyeol just hopes no curious creatures come along and ruin it.

Kyungsoo still hasn't woken up when he gets back, so Chanyeol considers it a success and reminds himself to act normal. It works in his favor, and Kyungsoo gets busy with his own work while Chanyeol gets some lab work done. When noon rolls around, Chanyeol gets nervous and wonders if it's too late to back out and pretend like he totally didn't just prep for a picnic.

"Chanyeol?" Kyungsoo calls out as he walks down the staircase, and Chanyeol pauses in the middle of watering Junior as if Kyungsoo could possibly have figured out his plans.

"Yes?" Chanyeol turns to see Kyungsoo standing on the middle step.

"I'm going to go set up surveying equipment by the lake. I think the charting program didn't estimate its distance correctly."

Chanyeol nods without thinking. "Okay." He only realizes that Kyungsoo's going to the lake, to where Chanyeol set up his little surprise picnic, as Kyungsoo's going out the door. With a yell of worry, Chanyeol scrambles and grabs Junior in his hurry. Luckily, it had just been fed, so there's no danger of being bitten.

"Kyungsoo, wait!" He yells as he climbs up the stairs, nearly tripping up once or twice. Unlocking the main door of the ship, Chanyeol runs out and spots his partner standing by the treeline. "Kyungsoo!"

He's terribly out of breath by the time he reaches Kyungsoo and some of Junior's soil spilled in his hurry, but he stopped Kyungsoo and that's all that matters. Chanyeol braces himself with a hand on his knee and offers a confused Kyungsoo a sheepish grin.

"Is something wrong?" Kyungsoo blinks.

Oh, shit. What does he say now? He didn't think about what to say!

"Uhh..." Chanyeol wracks his brain for an excuse. "I want to go with you...?"

"I guess you can. It's just boring stuff though." Kyungsoo eyes him closely, knowing something's fishy, and it's not the anchovies that he fed Junior. "Don't you have work to do?"

Chanyeol is sweating. He is sweating everywhere. "Uh, I finished! And I want to help you with your work too."

"Oh, you did?" By some miracle, Kyungsoo completely believes that and smiles. "Okay. You can help then." Chanyeol is stuck between questioning how gullible Kyungsoo can be or how cute he is (for the hundredth time).

They slowly make their way to the lake, Kyungsoo's arms full of equipment. Chanyeol would ask him if he needs help, but Kyungsoo is clearly stronger than he is. Not to mention, Chanyeol’s head is currently full of possibilities of how this could go. Chanyeol could be honest and admit that it's a date, but he's not sure he has the balls to do that. He could also just be subtle and say he wanted to do something nice for Kyungsoo, or maybe nature had it out for him and all the stuff he prepared is now destroyed.

When they break through the trees, that doesn't seem to be the case as the blanket and container are still sitting there. Right in view.

Kyungsoo notices it immediately and stops. "What's that?" He puts the equipment gently down on the sand and walks closer to the blanket. "Where'd this come from?"

"A date," Chanyeol blurts out nervously, and Kyungsoo turns to look at him in surprise. "It's, um...I put it there for you...as a date...like the both of us...together..." He's just spewing word vomit at this point, and his heart is thundering in his chest from nerves. For a moment, it's just silence, and Chanyeol wishes the ground would eat him alive as he stares at the sand and refuses to look up.

"A date?" Kyungsoo finally murmurs, and Chanyeol glances up nervously to see him scratching his head sheepishly with pink cheeks and a small smile. "I've...never been on a date before."

Chanyeol immediately perks up. "I-It's not much, but I hope you like picnics? I mean, what's better than a picnic by the lake, right?" He grins and takes Kyungsoo's hand in his, leading him over to the blanket before he has the chance to refuse.

Kyungsoo seems hesitant and shy, but he takes a seat on the blanket when prompted. Something about him sitting criss-cross on a pink felt blanket has Chanyeol cooing inside, and he bets Kyungsoo looks adorable in pink. Chanyeol sits across from him, setting Junior next to him.

"So...if this is a  _ date  _ then does that mean..." Kyungsoo bites his lip, looking at Chanyeol with curious and confused eyes. It's a sudden confession, pretty much out of the blue, and Chanyeol knows that well, but Kyungsoo doesn't seem aversed to the idea of a date with him.

"I like you," Chanyeol states it simply and confidently this time. "And even if you don't exactly feel the same way, I still want to do something nice for you."

"If this is about the other night--"

"It's not." Chanyeol shakes his head. "I've wanted to do this and say this to you for a while, maybe even since I met you." He smiles softly, and Kyungsoo's eyes widen and his cheeks turn a darker shade of pink.

Kyungsoo seems unsure of how to answer or reply, put on the spot by Chanyeol's honest confession. He finally says, "I'm not sure how I feel, but I do like being around you, Chanyeol, and for me that's...saying a lot." He laughs a little.

"You don't have to tell me right now. I just wanted to say it, so let's enjoy the picnic. I made sandwiches and kimbap." Chanyeol happily says as he opens the container, pulling out a few items before taking out the food. Kyungsoo catches sight of one - Chanyeol's ukulele - and smiles.

"You play?" He asks and points to it.

"Yes! I play guitar more, but I didn't pack it for our trip." Chanyeol sets out the food before taking ahold of the small instrument. "Here, you eat and I will serenade you."

Kyungsoo chuckles and picks up one of the sandwiches. "You sing too?"

"I'll have you know I was a part of the drama club in my university," Chanyeol answers proudly as he tunes his ukulele. He strums it a few times before feeling confident. "Okay, I call this one  _ I Wanna Beep-Boop You _ ."

Kyungsoo bursts into a fit of giggles as Chanyeol starts to play a merry little tune. Of course the lyrics that he sings are completely made up on the spot and improvised, but despite that he has Kyungsoo smiling from ear-to-ear and laughing at every other line. When he finishes, Kyungsoo claps and then picks up a piece of kimbap and holds it out for him.

"My reward?" Chanyeol accepts it with a smile, cheeks puffing out as he chews. "Did you like it?"

"It was cute, and you're good at playing the ukulele," Kyungsoo compliments, looking more comfortable now that he got a good laugh.

Chanyeol beams and bows his head. "Well I'm glad I made you laugh. You look cute when you smile freely like that."

Grumbling, Kyungsoo pouts and crosses his arms, face red once more. "I am  _ not  _ cute. I'm a man filled with metal parts and--"

"--made of tough stuff?" Chanyeol guesses, earning a glare from Kyungsoo. "You can still be cute to me even then."

Kyungsoo huffs, pursing his lips. "Whatever," he mumbles. It's moments like these when Chanyeol can clearly tell who's younger between the two of them. Kyungsoo really is unpredictable, going from blank and serious to pouty and childish.

"Do you have any hobbies I don't know about?" Chanyeol asks, changing the subject for Kyungsoo's sake.

"Um, well." Kyungsoo shrinks back in on himself. "Funny you ask that. I actually wanted to be a singer when I was a kid. I thought if I went to the city that I could make it big and become a star."

"You sing?" Chanyeol gawks. He's never even heard Kyungsoo hum before. "Well, now you have to sing something for me."

"Alright, um, sure." Kyungsoo clears his throat before starting. He begins a little shaky but as his voice smooths out, Chanyeol has no doubt that singing wasn't just a tiny hobby to Kyungsoo. His voice is deep and warm, like a hot drink on a cold day, and he sings a soft RnB song that has goosebumps appearing on Chanyeol's arms. Even if Chanyeol didn't have a crush on Kyungsoo, he would still recognize his talent.

Needless to say, he's completely speechless when Kyungsoo ends the last note, and he puts down his sandwich to clap wholeheartedly. "Kyungsoo, you're amazing!"

Kyungsoo smiles and shakes his head. "No, no, it's nothing special."

"Are you kidding me? We need to sing together sometime. Your voice is so beautiful," Chanyeol says honestly, making Kyungsoo blush and deny it even more. "I'm serious! We'll self-produce an album together."

"What're we gonna name it?"

Chanyeol furrows his brows, put on the spot. He thinks and thinks before pointing at Kyungsoo with a serious look. "If I can come up with a good title for our album, we're making it for real."

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes. "Yeah, okay, fine."

"Pinky promise?" Chanyeol offers up his own little finger. Kyungsoo eyes it before sighing and curling his smaller finger around Chanyeol's.

"Pinky promise."

Staying out on the shore well out into the afternoon, they get into talking about their childhood and other random stories. Chanyeol learns that although Kyungsoo’s childhood was hard he still misses it. He hasn’t been back to the slums in so long that he’s sure he’d stick out. Chanyeol can't relate to that per say, born to a well-off family with many expectations, but he can relate to the feeling of not fitting in.

Before they pack up and go, Chanyeol manages to convince Kyungsoo to sing with him. He can't wipe the smile of his face as he strums along to a recent song that they both know. Junior sways to the rhythm in its pot as they sing, and it's almost picturesque in the moment, and Chanyeol wishes he could take a mental snapshot and keep it forever. He almost forgets he's in the middle of an expedition to an unknown planet and not on vacation at some tropical place.

They set up the charting equipment before taking their leave as the star begins to set in the horizon. And before Chanyeol can pick up the blanket and container from their picnic, Kyungsoo takes and hauls them over his right shoulder with ease...just so he can hold out his left hand for Chanyeol to hold.

With a warm heart, Chanyeol takes ahold of Kyungsoo's hand. It's smaller than his own but rougher, and Chanyeol laces their fingers happily, following a blushing Kyungsoo back to their ship. Even if Kyungsoo doesn't fully like him back or anything like that, Chanyeol is still so overjoyed.

But that joy is soon burnt out when they come back to the KIM ALPHA 2400 with its main door wide open. They most definitely did not leave it like that.

"Fuck!" Kyungsoo curses, letting go of Chanyeol's hand so that they can both rush inside.

What greets them is empty chaos. Items along the main floor have been pushed and turned over, all storage containers opened like someone was frantically searching for something without a care of being seen.

Chanyeol is speechless before thinking of his lab and hurrying down the staircase, praying it too isn't a mess. That's wishful thinking, and Chanyeol's heart breaks as he finds beakers broken on the floor and all his ongoing water tests spilled onto the tile. The few plants he's potted have fallen over, and he's quick to pick them back up and pat their soil back down. With a solemn look, he places Junior back in its spot and falls back into his chair, staring at all the work that will take days to make up. He is surprised that his computer is still in tact. Whoever this was, what were they looking for?

His gaze shifts back to Junior, and then Chanyeol realizes what's missing. He gets up and runs back upstairs to Kyungsoo, who's inspecting everything, his right eye glowing red instead of its usual bright blue.

"The black gold is missing," Chanyeol says. "That's what they must have been after."

Kyungsoo scowls. "Space pirates. I knew it. I knew we were being watched."

"Being watched?" Chanyeol's eyes widen. This is the first time he's hearing of this.

"Whenever we go out I've felt like there are eyes on us or I hear something move randomly in the underbrush," Kyungsoo admits. "I didn't tell you because I thought it was my imagination, but I should've known better."

"It's alright. It's my fault anyways," Chanyeol slumps where he stands, expecting a scolding. "I didn't lock the door before we left today."

With a sigh, Kyungsoo smiles at him and pats his arm comfortingly. "You couldn't have known. They probably would've broken in whether it was locked or not. Let's just be thankful that we're okay."

He's right, and Chanyeol nods, trying not to feel too down about his research. "What should we do then? What if they come back?"

"Hopefully they won't, but our best bet is to move the ship to the other side of the lake. It won't do much, but maybe they'll back off." Kyungsoo moves to sit down in the pilot's seat, starting up the ship's control panel. Chanyeol takes a seat next to him as the KIM ALPHA 2400 jolts to life, and they slowly lift off the ground. The journey only takes a whole two minutes before they're landing on the shore, unable to find a perfect empty patch of land like before.

After that, they dive into cleaning up, Kyungsoo tackling the main floor while Chanyeol cleans up his lab. It sucks having to throw away broken equipment and his research in progress. He still has the notes he made, but nothing to show for it. It's frustrating, but Chanyeol knows he can't do anything about it. He'll have to work twice as hard now.

It's late in the evening when he finally finishes and rests his head on the table, pouting. As if on cue, Chanyeol hears Kyungsoo coming down the stairs.

"You finished too?" He asks, walking over and taking a seat on the table next to Chanyeol's head.

Chanyeol nods tiredly. "I lost all of my soil and water tests. I only finished a few of them."

Kyungsoo's hand lands in his hair, and he pets Chanyeol's head, making him smile for the first time in the past couple hours. "I'm sorry. Whoever those dicks are, I'll teach them a lesson if we run into them again."

"Thanks." Chanyeol sits up, giggling as Kyungsoo musses his hair one last time before withdrawing his hand and resting it atop of Chanyeol's on the table. Kyungsoo smiles and intertwines their fingers.

"What you did for me today...it really made me happy," he murmurs, squeezing Chanyeol's hand once. "You're the first person to ever surprise me with something like that. I almost feel like I don't deserve it...so thank you, Chanyeol."

Kyungsoo leans down and presses a shy kiss to his cheek, causing Chanyeol's entire body to heat up and for his heartbeat to speed up. When he pulls away, Kyungsoo hesitates and stops when their faces are hardly more than an inch away. It's Chanyeol who reaches up to rest a hand on the nape of Kyungsoo's neck and bring him closer again until their lips meet in a soft, sweet kiss.

It's like an electric spark, and Chanyeol sighs into the kiss, feeling like he can finally relax again after being tense for so long. Kyungsoo's lips are so plush and soft, and he makes a cute, small sound when Chanyeol pulls away, his cheeks the same pink shade of his mouth. Their eyes meet, both filled with wonder and curiosity, and then they share the same shy smile.

"You're really warm," Kyungsoo says, holding their intertwined hands to Chanyeol's cheek.

"It happens when I get excited," Chanyeol admits with a dopey grin, and Kyungsoo chuckles.

"Cute."

After the kiss, Chanyeol feels like he's on cloud nine as they get ready for bed. It was both a good and bad day, but he'd like to think that the good outshines the bad in this case. He huddles under the blankets on their bed all giddy, watching Kyungsoo toss his clothes in the hamper before turning off the lamp light and climbing into bed next to him. Chanyeol rolls over to face him, resting his head on the pillow with a smile. Kyungsoo looks so soft and small like this as Chanyeol's eyes adjust, and they lie in silence for a good minute or two.

"I always wake up to you cuddling me, you know," Chanyeol says with a sly grin. Kyungsoo's eyes go wide, and he immediately scoots away.

"Shit, um, I'm sorry. I-I can move to the couch..." He trails off as Chanyeol moves closer and envelops Kyungsoo into his arms, tugging him close.

"I think it's really cute, like you." Chanyeol squeezes him tight, listening to Kyungsoo grumble but accept his current situation. "It must be because I'm so warm."

"You are. It’s like my own personal space heater," Kyungsoo murmurs, and Chanyeol is finally able to coo out loud, this time punctuating it by leaning down and kissing Kyungsoo again. He feels Kyungsoo grip his t-shirt in response and press closer to him. Chanyeol knows that kissing him is going to get addictive real fast, and he's proven right as they pull away once only to come back to each other again. It's nothing hot and heady though, only sleepy and slow.

"We should sleep," Chanyeol breathes after finally forcing himself away. Kyungsoo nods and they move to get comfortable. Chanyeol falls asleep to Kyungsoo lying on his chest and his face buried in Chanyeol's neck, all warm and snug.

 

Juggling work and a relationship proves difficult for the both of them. Chanyeol wakes up the next day and finds it hard to leave Kyungsoo’s side, so he sleeps in and snuggles into the warm blankets until the late hours of the morning. While he works in the lab, his thoughts are occupied with the engineer sitting one story above. Kyungsoo must be the same as he ends up coming down into the lab to do his own work after a few hours.

Chanyeol isn’t really sure how he ends up with Kyungsoo in his lap, kissing him feverently and ignoring the pain in his thighs from Kyungsoo’s weight, but he soon forgets about all the work he has left to do.

Kyungsoo is so responsive despite his usual silence, clinging to Chanyeol's shoulders and encouraging Chanyeol's hands to roam his body with his soft responding moans. He's so cute, and Chanyeol ends up unzipping his jumpsuit, pushing it down Kyungsoo's shoulders and sneaking a hand underneath Kyungsoo's black undershirt. The skin of his stomach is soft but firm, and Kyungsoo arches his back into Chanyeol's touch when his fingers tweak Kyungsoo's left nipple.

"Chanyeol..." Kyungsoo breathes, pulling away from their kisses to instead kiss at Chanyeol's neck, momentarily distracting him. He can feel Kyungsoo's erection pressing against him, and Chanyeol adjusts their positions before gently thrusting his hips up, causing sweet friction that elicits hitched breaths and fluttering eyelids.

Before long they're moving against each other, panting and kissing messily. Chanyeol lifts Kyungsoo's shirt to expose his chest, pressing a kiss to his sternum before trailing over to his...nipple? Kyungsoo only has one nipple, on the left side. In the moment, Chanyeol goes along with it.

As he guessed, Kyungsoo is really sensitive there, and Chanyeol busies his hands with further unzipping Kyungsoo and cupping his dick through his underwear.

"Oh, fuck..." Kyungsoo moans. "Please..."

"Please, what?" Chanyeol teases. Kyungsoo's cheeks and lips are oh-so pink, and his red hair is a mess on his hand due to Chanyeol running his hands through it earlier. He is both adorable and sexy - in a way that has Chanyeol wanting to eat him up in both the literal and metaphorical sense.

Kyungsoo furrows his brows and frowns, sweat building in the black roots of his hair. "You know what."

"This?" Chanyeol strokes him until Kyungsoo's expression breaks and he groans. He grins and dips his hand into Kyungsoo's underwear, also black, grasping his dick into his hand. Kyungsoo instantly bucks into his touch, and Chanyeol goes back to kissing and sucking his nipple, causing him to writhe in Chanyeol's lap.

Teasing the slit of his erection causes the best reaction, and Chanyeol rubs his thumb over it again and again until Kyungsoo is stiffening in his lap and cumming onto his belly. When Kyungsoo relaxes, all dazed, he doesn't go boneless and instead reaches down to take care of Chanyeol's own problem.

Chanyeol leans back while on the brink of orgasm and belatedly realizes Kyungsoo is using his right hand to jerk him off. "Does it, mm, does it feel weird to j-jerk off someone when you can't...can't feel it?"

"Shut up, Chanyeol."

"A-Also why do you just have one nipple...a poor lone soldier."

"Just cum already!"

Later when lying in bed for the night, Kyungsoo tells him that he lost his right nipple from the explosion, and Chanyeol kisses in right pec in sorrow. That prompts another kissy, handsy moment between the two of them. _ Ah, the honeymoon phase of a blossoming relationship, _ Chanyeol thinks as Kyungsoo takes the liberty of sucking him off underneath the sheets.

 

The following day, they opt to give each other some space during the day for the promise of a late afternoon picnic on the shore. Chanyeol manages to clear his head of all images of Kyungsoo and focus on his work for real, and with that mindset he is able to catch back up on the water and soil tests that were destroyed. Junior even hacks up another chunk of the infamous black gold, which Chanyeol stores away safely this time, in a locked drawer.

Kyungsoo offers to set up the picnic, and he chooses a spot that's still in viewing range of the KIM ALPHA 2400, just in case the pirates decide to strike again while they're gone. A couple hours before sundown, they leave the ship and settle on the shore, a couple meters from the water. To Chanyeol's surprise, Kyungsoo had set up a little mini-grill (why that was on the ship, he doesn't know) and some prepared sides, snacks, and drinks.

"Barbecue? For me?" Chanyeol gasps as he sits down beside Kyungsoo and sets Junior down on the blanket next to him. Kyungsoo grins as he sets strips of pork belly and marinated beef onto the hot grill.

"You worked hard today." Kyungsoo puts the tongs down to grab a beer, cracks it open with his teeth, and hands it to Chanyeol. He'll probably never get used to that odd talent of Kyungsoo's.

"Thanks." Chanyeol accepts it with a smile and leans over to kiss Kyungsoo chastely, loving how Kyungsoo still manages to look a little dazed when he pulls away. With a chuckle, Chanyeol draws a hand around his waist and sticks to his side. He's learned that Kyungsoo isn't as touchy as he is, but he never shakes Chanyeol off, not yet at least.

As Kyungsoo grills the meat, Chanyeol controls the lettuce wraps and has a good time making them for his boyfriend, wrapping them up and feeding them to him, adoring how cute Kyungsoo looks with his mouth full. When he voices this aloud, Kyungsoo hits him on the shoulder with a grumble.

After they've finished their meal and the star begins to set, creating pink hues in the sky, they take a walk on the shore of the lake, gazing out into the water. Chanyeol holds Junior in his left hand and Kyungsoo in his right. It's the perfect moment and romantic enough that Kyungsoo stops to lean up and kiss him.

Chanyeol's toes curl blissfully in his shoes. Even if it's only been a few days, he doesn't think he'll ever tire of kissing Kyungsoo, and he wishes this moment would last forever.

But they're suddenly interrupted by the high-pitched hum of a blaster and a voice that says, "Drop the plant and turn around."

Chanyeol freezes instantly and pulls away from the kiss to look at Kyungsoo in worry. But Kyungsoo is composed with his brow furrowed, his eye glowing red. In a split second, Kyungsoo presses on two of the three markings on his wrist while pushing Chanyeol behind himself and facing the culprit. Unlike before, his arm doesn't just open, but as Kyungsoo holds it up, it  _ transforms _ , becoming some sort of large blaster.

In pure shock, Chanyeol clutches Junior close and peers over Kyungsoo to look. It's a pretty man with silver hair, holding a blaster pointed straight at them and flanked by two other men who are holding guns as well. These must be the space pirates that have been following them.

The man in the middle narrows his piercing gray eyes. "A cyborg, huh?" He tsks. Honestly, there's something familiar about him, and it's when he cocks his hip in an annoyed manner that Chanyeol finally recognizes him.

"Kai...? The Galaxy's First Love? Idol of a Million Talents, Kai?" Chanyeol gasps. Kyungsoo side-eyes him in disbelief. He's never seen Kai with anything other than his signature pink hair and eyes, despite him being Kirnae.

Kai immediately breaks out into that sunny smile reserved for his fans, and Chanyeol tries not to melt. "Wow! Are you a fan?"

"Yes!" Chanyeol chirps, ignoring how his boyfriend sighs and shakes his head.

Kai's smile widens, holding out a hand. "Then hand over the plant. Only a real fan would do that."

Immediately frowning, Chanyeol clutches a wilting Junior close and shakes his head. Kai's smile drops into a glare, and with a growl his hair and eyes fade to black, a Kirnae's signature being their hair and irises reflecting their mood.

He points his blaster straight at Chanyeol, making him cower behind Kyungsoo. "Don't make me shoot," he grumbles. But in a flash, Kai is jumping back as Kyungsoo shoots several beams at the ground by his feet. It's like his arm is a machine gun.

"Don't move a muscle," Kyungsoo threatens, his voice stern and cool. "Are you really Kai?"

Kai recovers with a smile and a laugh like this is a game to him. "I am, but that's a part-time job. In these parts I'm known as Captain Jongin Kim of Ximtara. I'm here because I want that thing." He motions to Junior with his blaster. "I've been coming to this planet for a year, but none of my men nor I can harvest that plant without getting poisoned or the thing dying. But I watched you do it perfectly. I want it, so hand it over, and no one gets hurt."

"And you heard us," Kyungsoo replies without a beat. "We said  _ no _ ."

Jongin scoffs and motions to his men, who cock their blasters and raise them. "You're outnumbered, cyborg."

"Chanyeol..." Kyungsoo whispers to him. "Back up."

"Kyungsoo,  _ no _ ." Chanyeol's face turns pale, but Kyungsoo silences him with a look - a look that asks to trust him. He hesitates with a gulp but steps back as Kyungsoo asked. "Kai - or  _ Jongin  _ \- is a Kirnae. He can run so fast that it's like teleportation. Be careful."

Kyungsoo gives a curt nod, and then he's running towards Jongin, shooting in his path. As Chanyeol foretold, the pirate disappears and in his way are the two underlings. It's almost seamless the way that Kyungsoo dodges the blasts aimed at him. His foot goes for the first man's jugular, kicking him and shooting him multiple times in the chest as he goes down while ducking the other's blast.

Jongin reappears momentarily, almost as a distraction, and Kyungsoo curses as he's shot in the shoulder. As if by design, that doesn't stop him from shooting at Jongin, missing, but managing to clip the last man in the hand, knocking his blaster from his palm. It renders him useless as Kyungsoo blasts him with multiple shots in the torso.

In a matter of minutes, all that's left is Jongin. Chanyeol's heart pounding in his chest as he watches Kyungsoo look all around him, cautiously waiting for Jongin to appear.

" _ Hello _ ," Jongin purrs in Chanyeol's ear.

"Chanyeol!" Kyungsoo yells, running towards him desperately.

Gasping, Chanyeol turns around just in time to see Jongin vanish once again. To his horror, he turns back to Kyungsoo as the engineer stops, and it's almost too fast for Chanyeol to catch.

Jongin suddenly appears behind Kyungsoo, pressing the blaster to his back and pulling the trigger.

" _ Bye, bye! _ " He sing-songs with a happy smile, his hair and eyes their signature soft pink once more. Kyungsoo clutches his stomach as blood starts pool into the fabric of his jumpsuit, and he can only take one more shaky step towards Chanyeol before collapsing into the sand. Chanyeol's heart sinks.

"Kyungsoo!" Chanyeol shouts, rushing towards his fallen form with tears in his eyes.

Jongin quickly appears in his path, and Chanyeol stops and trips in surprise, falling onto his bottom in fear but never letting go of Junior. Well, he didn't picture going out this way, killed by his favorite idol.

Jongin sighs, scratching his head nonchalantly with the barrel of his blaster. "It's a shame, really. I honestly didn't think you two would go this far over a plant." He steps closer, and in response Chanyeol scoots back, nearly slipping in the sand.

"You two were a cute couple, but I really need that black gold, and I won't let anyone stand in my way. You get that, right?" More steps, and Chanyeol continues back. More and more until something pokes into his back.

Jongin continues to talk, and Chanyeol glances behind him to see their picnic blanket bunched up with the container spilled over. In the middle, tucked underneath a bag of grapes, he notices the bottle of cinnamon whiskey lying there. The gears in his head start to turn, formulating a plan that just might work.

"...Hey, are you listening?" Jongin's voice takes on that cold tone, eyes narrowing as he tips Chanyeol's chin up with his blaster.

"I-I am!" Chanyeol nods, smiling nervously. "I was just thinking that, um, you're right! I-I should just give up now, right? But b-before you go would you mind...having a drink with me since you're my idol?" He holds a hand up in surrender as he turns around to grab the bottle of cinnamon whiskey. "I'd really appreciate it!"

Jongin rolls his eyes but thankfully retracts the gun. "Fine. One drink."

Chanyeol laughs and wills his hands not to shake as he unscrews the cap.  _ Here goes nothing _ , he thinks before lifting the bottle to his mouth and taking a heavy swig. He winces as it goes down but smiles, already feeling his core temperature start to rise.

"Here you go," Chanyeol's voice deepens as he hands the bottle up to Jongin, but the glass instantly starts to bubble up and melts into goo in his hand. Jongin's face twists in surprise, scurrying back and recognizing the danger as Chanyeol stands up, hands aflame and vision blurring in the corners of his eyes.

"Don't come any closer!" Jongin shouts, holding up the blaster, but Chanyeol doesn't pay any attention to that warning, suddenly filled with so much energy and nowhere to direct it.

He vaguely hears an echo of Jongin screaming as he dashes towards him.

 

Kyungsoo's hand feels so small and warm in Chanyeol's. Several hours ago it had felt so cold, and he had to be ripped away from Kyungsoo's side as they were both rushed into the med ward. Kyungsoo had to be taken into surgery, and Chanyeol had overheard one of the nurses say it was a miracle that he was still alive. Still shaken up by the whole experience, Chanyeol had to sit in the ward alone and get his burns treated, certain patches of his human skin unable to handle the hot temperature of his Pyronian side.

Now he sits at Kyungsoo's bedside waiting for him to wake up, his bullet wounds all stitched up and bandaged. A nurse had told Chanyeol that Kyungsoo should wake up sometime soon, though he would be a little out of it due to the pain medication. Chanyeol plays with his fingers quietly, listening to the heartbeat monitor.

And then those fingers twitch, and Chanyeol looks up just as Kyungsoo's face twists into a grimace. His eyes open slowly, eyelids heavy and droopy, before they look around the room, adjusting to the brightness of the white interior.

"Where..." Kyungsoo starts in a hoarse, quiet voice. Chanyeol squeezes his hand, and Kyungsoo's eyes move to him. "'Yeol?"

"Hey," Chanyeol whispers with a smile, scooting closer to the bed in his chair. "How are you feeling?"

"Thirsty...tired." Kyungsoo parts his lips as Chanyeol grabs the cup of water, bringing the straw to his mouth and letting him take a long sip. The moment Chanyeol draws away, Kyungsoo asks, "Where am I? What happened after...?"

"We're on the S.S. Pytheas with the Intergalactic Peace Corps. When I called the emergency hub, they were the closest ship to us. They saved us and arrested Jongin and his crew." Chanyeol looks down at their intertwined hands. "We were lucky."

"How…?" Kyungsoo furrows his brows. "Did you...defeat Jongin?"

Chanyeol snorts, grinning a little sheepishly. "I drank some cinnamon whiskey, and I don't remember much after that. I know I left Jongin and I with some serious burns." He rolls up the sleeve of his borrowed clothing, showing Kyungsoo the bandage on his forearm.

"Sorry." Kyungsoo offers a sleepy smile. "I guess I wasn't as tough...as I thought."

Chanyeol lifts Kyungsoo's hand and kisses it before pressing it to his cheek tenderly. He sniffles then, eyes watering now that the stress and worry has caught up to him. "I really thought you were dead when I saw you..."

"Don't cry." Kyungsoo weakly moves his fingers to wipe at a tear at the corner of Chanyeol's eye. "I'm okay now. We're safe."

Letting out a little sob, Chanyeol stands up and leans over to kiss his boyfriend, cupping his cheeks gently. Distracted by the feeling, Chanyeol belatedly notices the heart monitor skyrocket, the beeping becoming incessant. He pulls away with a chuckle but before he can make a snide comment, Kyungsoo hushes him and tries to lean up for another kiss. Chanyeol pushes him back down but gives him what he wants.

 

They stay with the Peace Corps until Kyungsoo is healed, which amounts to around a week. Thankfully, they are free to continue on with their expedition and return to Lucio shortly after, assured by the I.P.C. that they will be protected by afar from now on. Chanyeol is honestly happy to be alone with Kyungsoo again. There wasn't much privacy when they were stuck in the med ward for most of the day, and Chanyeol kept getting phone calls from media outlets asking him for his statement on Kai. Apparently, the milky way galaxy was surprised to find out that their beloved idol was a wanted criminal.

Junior is happy to be back on its home planet, safe and sound. Too many people on the S.S. Pytheas wanted to touch and inspect the poor thing and to the point that Chanyeol was worried he might wither and die, but like Kyungsoo he too recovered.

On their third day with the I.P.C., Dr. Kwon that had worked on Kyungsoo’s metal parts came onto the ship. One of the blasts had messed up his shoulder, making it hard for Kyungsoo to move his arm entirely. But Kyungsoo wasn’t happy with it at all, and the moment the man walked into the room, Kyungsoo’s mouth was set into a hard line. Chanyeol could understand why. Dr. Kwon was a stringy old man who clearly saw Kyungsoo as an experiment and not a human being.

“You went down with only one shot to the stomach?” Dr. Kwon raised his brows as he repaired Kyungsoo’s shoulder.  He tsked. “We should add more modifications.”

Kyungsoo only looked away and said nothing. Confused, Chanyeol only asked what Dr. Kwon meant after the man had left, and Kyungsoo’s jaw set as he replied, “I’m meant to be a superior soldier. No matter how many times I’m shot or stabbed, I keep going.” He closed his eyes and sighed. “It doesn’t matter though. He can’t do anything to me without my consent anymore.” 

Chanyeol frowned and held his hand. “If that creepy old man comes near you like that again, I’ll fight him.” He raised a shaking fist and was proud to see Kyungsoo crack a grin.

“I’m glad I have you, my space heater.”

Thankfully, once they come home to Lucio, Kyungsoo gets back into the swing of things like nothing happened, working on his maps and going out with Chanyeol to explore more and procure samples. They decide to focus on the lake as they're parked right on the shore and spend a few days walking around the lake, discovering huge crustacean-like creatures and tiny blue lizards that burrow into the sand of the shore. There are plenty of fish in the sea (“Chanyeol, stop. It’s a lake.”), but Chanyeol doesn’t succeed in catching any of them with his bare hands, stomping around in the shallow waters. Kyungsoo suggests actually fishing, but Chanyeol doesn’t like the idea of hurting any of the poor fish.

Newfound success comes in a grassy part of the shore, and Chanyeol finds large pitcher plants gathered together. They don’t seem as advanced as Junior’s species, however, and don’t move when Chanyeol approaches them. It’s an easier experience when he decides to dig up a small one and plant it for research. If anything, Junior looks happier when Chanyeol places the little pitcher plant next to it in the windowsill.

“What are you going to name it?” Kyungsoo asks as Chanyeol feeds both Junior and its new roommate.

Chanyeol purses his lips and thinks. His mind turns up blank, and he turns to Kyungsoo. “How about you name this one?”

Kyungsoo furrows his brows and bites his bottom lip as he ponders, eyeing the plant as if he’s thinking of the perfect name. “How about...Loey?”

“Loey?” Chanyeol has never heard anything like that before.

Kyungsoo nods. “It’s  _ Yeol  _ backwards.”

Like an arrow to the heart, Chanyeol is quickly overcome with emotion. He braces himself on the table behind him and places a hand on his chest, sniffling. “Kyungsoo…” he fake-sobs. “I love it.”

“Stop being dramatic,” Kyungsoo scoffs even though Chanyeol sees him smiling. “I’m glad you like it though.” Used to Chanyeol’s antics, he accepts being squashed into Chanyeol’s shoulder in a tight hug. It only takes him a second before he nuzzles into the warmth and hugs Chanyeol back.

The following day marks seaweed research, and with swim trunks on this time, Chanyeol wades into waist-deep water, despite Kyungsoo warning him that there could be some danger lurking in that lake. He won’t deny the possibility, but it’s all for the glory of research. Chanyeol doesn’t really understand why Kyungsoo complains while standing on the shore. He’s made a point to avoid the water every time they’ve ventured out to the lake. At first he thought that maybe Kyungsoo’s metal parts couldn’t be exposed to water, but he takes showers every night, and Kyungsoo was the one to stick his hand in the water on the first day, so that doesn’t make much sense at all.

“Why won’t you come in the water?” Chanyeol asks as he walks out onto the shore and squats down to place the bundles of deep purple seaweed in the bucket.

“Um,” Kyungsoo hesitates, “I can’t swim, and water scares me.”

Chanyeol is momentarily surprised. If anything, he wasn’t expecting that. “Really?” He blinks. “Why didn’t you just tell me then? I feel bad for making you get all those water samples.”

Kyungsoo sheepishly smiles. “All for the glory of research, I guess.”

“Well,” Chanyeol stands up, “I can teach you how to swim if you’d like.” Without even waiting for Kyungsoo’s reply, Chanyeol takes his hand with an excited grin and runs back towards the water, dragging Kyungsoo along with him.

“Chanyeol, wait!” Kyungsoo protests, yanking his hand back just before they reach the water’s edge. 

“What?” Chanyeol furrows his brows, looking Kyungsoo up and down while the former tries to think of an excuse to get out of the impromptu swimming lesson. “Oh, right, you aren’t wearing anything to swim in.”

Just as Kyungsoo sees the light at the end of the tunnel, Chanyeol cuts him off: “That’s fine! Just wear your underwear.”

“Ch-Chanyeol, stop!” Kyungsoo attempts to fight him off, but somehow Chanyeol manages to unzip his jumpsuit and take off his shirt. Giving up and surrendering with a grimace, Kyungsoo removes the articles of clothing and his shoes, standing in his black boxer briefs. “I hate you, and I don’t wanna do this.”

“Hey, it’s okay.” Chanyeol takes a hold of his hand again. “I’ll be right next to you, and I won’t let go - until you start swimming, of course.”

“Thanks,” Kyungsoo deadpans, looking prepared for death.

Chanyeol leads a reluctant Kyungsoo into the water, aware of how tightly Kyungsoo’s hand is grasping his. When they start to wade into deeper waters, Kyungsoo has progressed to clinging to Chanyeol’s arm. Eventually they go even deeper than Chanyeol had been, and Kyungsoo’s toes can barely skim over the sandy floor, the water up to his  shoulders. 

“Should we go deeper?” Chanyeol moves, but Kyungsoo stops him with a soft, scared, “No!” and clings to his shoulders, hugging him.

“Alright, alright, we can start here.” Chanyeol chuckles and lifts his feet from the lake floor and floats, holding Kyungsoo with him. He’s a little heavy, so Chanyeol could see why the metal parts might make it harder to swim. “How about trying to float first?”

Kyungsoo looks a little sick but nods anyways. Although panicked, he lets Chanyeol let go of him while he holds onto Chanyeol’s broad shoulders and slowly lifts his legs. He looks so determined that Chanyeol just watches quietly as Kyungsoo struggles with trying to let go and float on his own, lifting a hand off before quickly putting it back on out of fear.

“You can’t drown with me here, so don’t be too panicked, okay? Just relax.”

Taking a deep breath, Kyungsoo focuses and slowly draws a hand away and placing it lightly onto Chanyeol's, kicking his legs a little more to keep afloat. Eventually, he feels brave enough to take the other hand away too and soon Kyungsoo is keeping himself afloat.

"See?" Chanyeol brandishes a proud grin. "I told you! If you can float, then you should be able to swim." He moves to let go, but Kyungsoo grasps one of his hands.

"Don't let go of me." Kyungsoo looks so desperate that Chanyeol can't refuse and moves to grab Kyungsoo's hand. He probably is still scared of the water, regardless of his ability to swim or not.

They spend about an hour or so just swimming around, with Chanyeol leading Kyungsoo. The latter seems to cheer up by the end of it, even ducking his head under to look at the bottom of the lake. Chanyeol swoons at the sight of Kyungsoo's red hair slicked back with the water, and not to mention his impressive biceps and just barely visible abs.

Kyungsoo catches him staring and smiles at him knowingly. "Like something you see?"

"You," Chanyeol answers honestly, catching Kyungsoo off-guard and making him blush. He draws closer to kiss Kyungsoo on the nose and then the cheek. Kyungsoo sighs almost blissfully in response, leaning up to kiss Chanyeol on the lips sweetly.

"Thanks for the swimming lessons," Kyungsoo murmurs. "We should probably head back. It's gonna get dark soon."

Head spinning momentarily from the kiss, Chanyeol manages a nod in agreement. They swim back to the shore in no time, grabbing their clothes and the buckets of seaweed. Chanyeol jumps in the shower first, washing the soon-to-be smelly lake water away, before getting right back into research mode. To stay on schedule, he needs to get down to the cellular level with these aquatic plant species by tonight.

He gets more than that done though, the type to never stop unless he's forced to when it comes to his life's work. Kyungsoo wanders down after a few hours, peeking in to make sure Chanyeol's still alive.

"I made dinner if you want some," Kyungsoo says, placing a plate of spaghetti down across the room, away from Chanyeol's research and experimentation.

"Thanks," Chanyeol looks up from his work and smiles. "I'll be back up in a little bit. I just have to finish this and then clean up." He turns back to adjusting his microscope before remembering something and catching Kyungsoo just as he turns back towards the staircase. "Oh! I was gonna tell you that the first seaweed - one of the green ones - that I picked up is actually really tasty and high in protein. You can probably throw it into one of your smoothies tonight if you want. It's marked  _ F _ in the mini-fridge over in the corner."

Kyungsoo wrinkles his nose at the thought of seaweed in his nightly smoothie, but he trusts Chanyeol's judgement as the scientist. Looking in the fridge, he finds the container marked  _ F _ and carries it back upstairs with him.

 

Tired after working his brain nonstop, Chanyeol makes his way back upstairs, making a beeline for the sink to rinse off his plate and set it in the dishwasher. It's pretty late, so he wonders if Kyungsoo went to sleep already. Peering into the main hub, he doesn't see Kyungsoo on the couch or by the control unit, the lights already turned off.

There's a dim light coming from their bedroom, the door opened, and when Chanyeol enters he sees Kyungsoo lying in the bed. He's shirtless though, the sheets thrown off, and his face is red as he pants heavily, trembling. Automatically assuming the worst, Chanyeol rushes over.

"Kyungsoo! Are you okay?" He feels Kyungsoo's forehead, and the skin contact has Kyungsoo's eyes fluttering open with a soft moan.

Immediately, he glares at Chanyeol. "What...was up with that...seaweed?" His speech is slurred and slow. Kyungsoo's eyes close again, and he groans again. Chanyeol catches Kyungsoo's arm moving and traces it down to where it's delved into his boxer briefs, slowly jerking himself off.

Chanyeol's eyes widen in realization, and he dashes out of the room without warning and back into the kitchenette, scrambling to find the container in the the trashcan. Once he plucks it out of some uneaten smoothie, Chanyeol turns it around to read the label.

_ E _ , but the bottom line is barely visible, making it look like  _ F _ .

Uh-oh.

"Kyungsoo!" Chanyeol rushes back in. "You ate  _ E! _ "

Kyungsoo struggles to push himself up onto his elbows, furrowing his brows. "What's...wrong with  _ E _ ...with  _ me _ ?" His eyes are burning with a mixture of lust and anger, and Chanyeol feels pinned in place by them.

"Um...well... _ E  _ was one of those plants I'd picked up during our charting days." Chanyeol laughs nervously, running a hand through his hair. "It has some...strong aphrodisiac qualities? I didn't think it would lead to this, but you consumed a lot of it...I guess I can officially name it  _ Asstronaughty  _ now?"

"I'm going to kill you, Chanyeol Park." Kyungsoo struggles to get up, but whatever he consumed made all his bones feel like jelly. Even his robotic arm doesn't want to cooperate. He huffs and gives up on moving. "Fix this."

Chanyeol steps closer to the bed, trying not to eye Kyungsoo's boner too obviously. "Uh, I can't just cure you like--"

"You know what I mean." Kyungsoo collapses back onto the bed, reaching for the band of his underwear and lazily dragging it down.

Catching his drift, Chanyeol quickly starts taking off his own clothes until he's left in his underwear. He climbs onto the bed and over Kyungsoo, helping him slide his boxer briefs down his legs. Kyungsoo's cock is an angry red, nearly purpling at the tip, and dripping precum.

"You haven't cum at all?" Chanyeol asks, surprised. He runs his hands over Kyungsoo's sides, tweaking his nipple and leaning down to kiss at his neck.

Kyungsoo impatiently whines and wraps his legs around Chanyeol's waist. "Chanyeol, please..."

Normally, Chanyeol would love to tease him, but since this is his fault, he moves to kiss Kyungsoo and wraps a hand around his erection and pumping him quickly. This probably won't be Kyungsoo's only orgasm, and it doesn't take long for him to be driven to the brink. Kyungsoo twists in the sheets, moaning and clawing at the pillow underneath his head. With a deep, guttural groan, he thrusts his hips up and cums onto his chest in thick white ropes.

True to Chanyeol's theory, Kyungsoo's erection doesn't go down in the slightest, and when the man himself notices he whimpers, clawing a hand through his hair in frustration. Feeling guilty, Chanyeol is open to doing something he's never done.

"Here, get on your hands and knees," Chanyeol suggests, helping a confused Kyungsoo do so, his cute little butt presented perfectly. Chanyeol scoots down the bed a little, grasping one of Kyungsoo's cheeks in either hand and squeezing. It looks so hot in Chanyeol's bigger hands, and they jiggle when he lets go.

Kyungsoo wiggles impatiently, so Chanyeol hurries up and parts Kyungsoo's cheeks and looking at his puckered hole, pink and pretty. He's probably still stretched from when Chanyeol fingered him this morning...

"Ch-Chanyeol!" Kyungsoo lets out a shocked moan as Chanyeol attaches his mouth to his entrance, licking and kissing. He spreads him further with his thumbs, pushing his tongue inside. The sounds Kyungsoo makes in response are so satisfying that Chanyeol doesn't stop, pressing kisses down his perineum and to his balls before trailing back up.

Kyungsoo is shuddering beneath his touch, and when Chanyeol reaches around to touch him, he's practically dripping precum onto the sheets beneath him. His arms collapse beneath him, pressing his face into the pillows. Determined to make him cum again, Chanyeol starts to stroke him while he swirls his tongue around Kyungsoo's rim

"P-Please..." Kyungsoo's voice is so breathy and deep. "Chany-yeol."

Chanyeol pulls away and sits up, still jerking Kyungsoo off as he leans over him. "Hmm?"

Kyungsoo turns his head to look at him, dazed and sweaty. "I want you,  _ mm _ .” He bites his lip, shuddering and closing his eyes as he grips the pillow tightly and releases onto the sheets for the second time.

Guessing what Kyungsoo’s thinking, Chanyeol’s eyes widen. “You mean…” They still haven’t gone  _ all _ the way. Chanyeol’s wanted to, but he’s waited until Kyungsoo felt comfortable.

“Yeah,” Kyungsoo hums and shifts onto his back, Chanyeol helping him move over on the bed and out of the mess on the sheets. He’s a blissful wreck after two orgasms, breathing heavily and glistening with sweat. His dark gaze is burning with how it focuses on Chanyeol and Chanyeol only; it has Chanyeol hurrying to reach into the bedside table and find the lube and a condom. 

“Underwear,” Kyungsoo reminds, spreading his legs further as Chanyeol lubes up a few of his fingers. 

“I’ll take them off after I finger you.” Chanyeol rubs Kyungsoo’s pink pucker before slowly inserting a finger. He’s already a little loose, but not enough for a man of Chanyeol’s caliber. No bragging, just facts.

“Don’t say it like that,” Kyungsoo mumbles, cheeks somehow more flushed than they were before. He winces when Chanyeol slides in the second finger.

“You’re really embarrassed about me talking about fingering you when my mouth was just attached to your ass?” Chanyeol chuckles, cutting off whatever response Kyungsoo was preparing to give him as he prods at his prostate, making Kyungsoo moan and his ever-present erection twitch weakly. 

Eventually, Chanyeol has three fingers pumping in and out of Kyungsoo, making the younger man arch his back and tug on his own hair, now a crimson mess on his head. His speech has become a mixture of Chanyeol’s name and soft sounds, writhing on the bed. Anymore and he’ll surely cum, so Chanyeol pulls his fingers out to Kyungsoo’s dismay. Taking off his boxers is a relief as he’s only focused on Kyungsoo, and an impatient whine has Chanyeol hurrying to roll on the condom and lube himself up.

Kyungsoo snakes his legs around Chanyeol’s waist and groans as he pushes in. Chanyeol is so warm, inside him and around him, but it’s not enough, and he quickly becomes annoyed as Chanyeol waits for him to adjust.

“Move. I’m not gonna break,” he says. Perfectly whipped, Chanyeol leans down to kiss Kyungsoo as he starts to thrust. Kyungsoo's toes curl, clinging to Chanyeol's shoulders as he picks up the pace fairly quickly. He can't stop the flow of sounds that escape him and would be embarrassed if his mind hadn't turned to mush.

"So cute," Chanyeol murmurs, bracing his hands on the bed as he tries to move faster with his shitty stamina. He's already a sweaty mess, but he can't take his eyes off of Kyungsoo. He looks too perfect with pink cheeks, drooling with red parted lips and teary eyes. Not to mention he feels so good wrapped around Chanyeol's dick, thick thighs jiggling as Chanyeol's hips slap against them.

"Fuck," Chanyeol groans, feeling close already. He reaches down to jerk Kyungsoo off, but it throws off his rhythm, so Kyungsoo slaps his hand away and does it himself.

He manages to keep it together like a gentleman, and Kyungsoo ends up arching his back and shooting his load all over his chest for the second time with a yell. Chanyeol follows him in seconds, gripping the sheets in his fists as he rides it out.

Once the haze clears from his head, Chanyeol looks down and is relieved to see Kyungsoo's cock softening on his tummy. The poor engineer already looks sleepy, eyes heavy as he watches Chanyeol pull out and clean up.

"We're gonna have to change the sheets," Chanyeol says as he turns off the light and climbs into the bed next to Kyungsoo, pulling the blankets over them.

"Don't care," Kyungsoo mumbles, moving to lie on Chanyeol's chest.

"Sorry about the whole aphrodisiac thing. I swear I didn't know."

"S'okay." Kyungsoo's breathing is already evening out, and within seconds Chanyeol can already tell he's fallen asleep. He presses a kiss to the top of Kyungsoo's head. Maybe he can really make it up to him tomorrow with some breakfast in bed.

 

There's only a week left in their expedition.

After the nearly two months spent on Lucio, Chanyeol feels time catching up to him too fast. Not only is there pressure to get all his research done and accounted for, but he finds himself wondering what he and Kyungsoo will become when they return to Andromeda. What if they get back home and the spark is gone? There's also the fact that Kyungsoo lives in Lunae, so they will have to part when the time comes.

Chanyeol can't imagine not sharing a bed with him anymore.

He's mulling it over during dinner one night, frowning and staring at his plate as he eats. He must have been caught up in his thoughts for too long as there's suddenly a hand waving over his face. Chanyeol blinks and looks up to see Kyungsoo looking at him in worry.

"Feel okay?" He asks.

“No,” Chanyeol mumbles with a pout, poking at his plate of stir-fry. This time Kyungsoo had put the right kind of seaweed in it. With a sigh, he looks at Kyungsoo and says, “After the expedition, we have to go separate ways because of your job. I don't want to though. I really like you, Kyungsoo, but it's okay if this is just...a temporary thing..." His eyes sting a little at the thought of being led on this whole time.

Kyungsoo scoffs and places his hand on top of Chanyeol's. "You idiot. I'm not just gonna bolt the moment we get back to Andromeda."

"Really?" Chanyeol sniffles to look more pitiful.

"Yes." Kyungsoo's cheeks turn pink, and he becomes sheepish as he mumbles, "Besides, I already put in a request to transfer to Andromeda."

Chanyeol gasps and gets up from his chair to hug Kyungsoo tightly, nuzzling into his hair. Kyungsoo tries to struggle out of his grip but to no avail, relaxing and accepting his fate as always. Chanyeol laughs with a beaming smile. "You transferred jobs just because you have a crush on me, 'Soo. You  _ love  _ me."

He expects Kyungsoo to grumble and deny it as usual, but instead he encircles his arms around Chanyeol's waist and murmurs softly, "I do."

Chanyeol pulls away with yet another gasp. "You do?"

Kyungsoo nods and almost gets knocked out of the chair with how fast Chanyeol kisses him. It's breathtaking, and he has to brace himself with a hand on the table. He can't help but smile though at how happy Chanyeol looks when he breaks the kiss and says, "Me too!"

The days pass by in no time, and before they know it, it's their last day on Lucio. It's bittersweet, and they spend the day outside by the lake, having their final picnic together with Junior. They watch the star set in the horizon and know that they'll miss this little planet that started to feel almost like home. Chanyeol knows he'll never forget the memories and how this really was a dream come true.

"Kyungsoo?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks for coming with me."

"You're welcome, Chanyeol."

 

"Now, I'd like to welcome to the stage, Dr. Chanyeol Park."

Applause fills the black-tie event, and Chanyeol cheeks hurt from smiling as he gets up from his chair and walks to the stage, his heart pounding and nearly tripping up the stage stairs. The President welcomes him with a handshake and a polite grin, and Chanyeol looks out to the crowd of executives anxiously. But he manages to catch his boyfriend sitting at their table with a wide, proud smile. Kyungsoo looks so handsome in his tuxedo...

"Dr. Park has made many advancements in his field of astrobotany." The President's voice snaps him back to reality. "Last year, he was able to go on an expedition to the exoplanet Lucio and work for the R.D.R.M. He documented many species of flower and fauna while there, including the carnivorous plant  _ Dionaea kyungula,  _ which is known for its production of the rare black gold. And for his research, I, along with the Republic of Mars, would like to present him with this award to commemorate his contributions to research."

Chanyeol is presented a crystal trophy, inscribed with the seal of the Republic and his name, and he accepts it with trembling hands before taking his place at the podium. "Th-Thank you so much for this award. It means so much to me, coming from the tiny field of astrobotany. I want to thank my parents, the R.D.R.M. board for letting me take an expedition of a lifetime, Dr. Zu for giving me a position at his lab, and lastly my partner Kyungsoo Do. My expedition to Lucio would've been nothing without him." Chanyeol smiles and turns to wave the man holding the other award. "That's why I want to join the President in awarding Kyungsoo for his charting efforts and for serving the U.P.E. army for many years."

The people applause, and Chanyeol watches a shocked Kyungsoo stand up, Chanyeol's parents smiling at him and encouraging him to go up. Kyungsoo looks so nervous but accepts his award humbly, calming visibly when Chanyeol rests a hand on his lower back and leads him to the podium. He knows about Kyungsoo's stage fright, so he speaks for them both.

"Please look forward to my research journal that will be published next May, and our co-written book titled  _ Love, Lucio _ . Thank you." Chanyeol feels Kyungsoo's eyes on him, and as he enjoys the cheers and claps, he looks over to see Kyungsoo smiling at him. He can't resist pressing a kiss to his cheek before they exit the stage.

Chanyeol catches Kyungsoo staring at the award in his hands on the way home. They both live in Chanyeol's cozy apartment in the city. It's a perfect fit for them both and Kyungsoo's puppy, plus Junior of course. Chanyeol couldn't bear to leave him alone in the greenhouse with his other plant babies.

"Like it?" Chanyeol asks, focusing his eyes back on the road as he drives.

"You didn't have to," Kyungsoo mumbles.

"I didn't. The R.D.R.M. wanted to give it to you, but I wanted to keep it a secret from you." Chanyeol grins, shying away when Kyungsoo threatens to hit him.

"Asshole," Kyungsoo grumbles but then sighs. "Thank you though. I've never won an award before."

"Not even at school?" Chanyeol furrows his brows.

"You could hardly call what I went to 'school.'"

Chanyeol pulls into the parking deck of the apartment building, and they climb out of the car and into the cold. Kyungsoo reaches for his hand instantly, craving the warmth as he clings to Chanyeol's side. He always does it, unused to the colder temperatures of Mars's colony.

"You look handsome, by the way," Chanyeol compliments as they enter the elevator. "Like a high-society gentleman."

Kyungsoo picks at his suit jacket. "Do I? It feels weird and itchy."

"I'd fuck you." Chanyeol's hand slips down to touch his butt.

"Chanyeol!"

"What? This isn't public, it's an elevator!" He pouts as his hand gets slapped away, and the elevator dings as they arrive at their floor.

"There's cameras!" Kyungsoo huffs, digging into his pockets for his keys and unlocking the front door. Mokmul, Kyungsoo's puppy, comes bounding around the corner, and he bends down to smother it in love.

"Well, we're out of public now..." Chanyeol hugs his boyfriend from behind the moment he straightens back up.

"Fine, but make sure to close the bedroom door properly this--Chanyeol!" Kyungsoo's complaints become muted as Chanyeol pushes him down on the couch right then and there.

In the background, the muted T.V. is on, but neither of them are paying attention to it. A breaking news headline in bright red runs along the bottom of the holographic screen.

_ Idol Turned Space Pirate Kim Jongin AKA Kai is Reported to Have Escaped High Security Prison on Kara _

 


End file.
